title: Fish, long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake and incidence of atrial fibrillation: A pooled analysis of two prospective studies.
abstract: Whether high intakes of fish and long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) remains uncertain. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the associations of total fish, types of fish, and omega-3 PUFA intake with AF incidence in a large prospective study.
  
  
  
  We used data from the Cohort of Swedish Men and the Swedish Mammography Cohort to examine the associations of fish consumption and long-chain omega-3 PUFA intake with AF incidence. At baseline, information on fish and omega-3 PUFA intakes was available from 72,984 men and women, aged 45-83 years, without cardiac disease. Cases of AF were identified through linkage with the Swedish National Patient Register. Multivariable-adjusted relative risks were estimated with the use of Cox proportional hazards models.
  
  
  
  Over a follow-up period of 12 years, 6095 participants (3595 men and 2500 women) developed AF. Intakes of total fish, fatty fish (herring/mackerel and salmon/whitefish/char), and long-chain omega-3 PUFAs were not associated with AF incidence after adjustment for other risk factors. However, high consumption of lean fish (cod/saithe/fish fingers) was associated with a lower risk; multivariable relative risk of AF for ≥3 servings/week compared with never consumption was 0.79 (95% confidence interval, 0.65-0.95).
  
  
  
  These findings do not support a beneficial association of fatty fish or omega-3 PUFA intake with incident AF. The association between lean fish consumption and AF risk warrants further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: susanna.larsson@ki.se.
authors.forename: Susanna C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.affiliation: Unit of Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Alicja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wolk
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017747:Seafood / Q000032:analysis*; D013548:Sweden
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3
keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Diet; Fish; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Prospective studies