Fish consumption and early atherosclerosis in middle-aged men.
To investigate the association between fish consumption and early atherosclerosis, we analyzed the relationship between fish consumption and average intima-media thickness (AveIMT) by carotid ultrasound in middle-aged Japanese men. Participants were 250 randomly selected, community-based Japanese men aged 40 to 49 years without a prior history of cardiovascular disease. AveIMT was calculated from the mean of 1-cm lengths of both the right and the left carotid arteries at 8 locations. A lifestyle survey was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire including the frequency of fish intake. There were 147 men in the fewer than 4 times per week fish consumption group and 103 men in the 4 or more times per week group. The mean AveIMT was significantly higher in the low fish consumption group than in the high fish consumption group (0.623+/-0.068 vs 0.605+/-0.065 mm, P=.03). After adjustment for age, waist circumference, pack-years of smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes, and lipid-lowering medications, the significant difference in the AveIMT between the 2 groups remained. However, after further adjustment for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and C-reactive protein in the model, the significant difference disappeared. Fish consumption may be protective against early atherosclerosis in middle-aged men, probably through its beneficial effects on inflammation.
Nakamura
Yasuyuki
Y
Cardiovascular Epidemiology, Kyoto Women's University, Kyoto 605-8501, and Department of Medicine, Nagahama Red-Cross Hospital, Japan. nakamury@kyoto-wu.ac.jp
Ueno
Yoshiki
Y
Tamaki
Shinji
S
Kadowaki
Takashi
T
Okamura
Tomonori
T
Kita
Yoshikuni
Y
Miyamatsu
Naomi
N
Sekikawa
Akira
A
Takamiya
Tomoko
T
El-Saed
Aiman
A
Sutton-Tyrrell
Kim
K
Ueshima
Hirotsugu
H
D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000818:Animals; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D004032:Diet; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking; D014463:Ultrasonography; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio
D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D002784:Cholesterol