Fish consumption and risk of subclinical brain abnormalities on MRI in older adults

Neurology. 2008 Aug 5;71(6):439-46. Virtanen JK, Siscovick DS, Longstreth WT Jr, Kuller LH, Mozaffarian D. Results: After adjustment for multiple risk factors, the risk of having one or more prevalent subclinical infarcts was lower among those consuming tuna/other fish 3 times/week, compared to <1/month. Tuna/other fish consumption was also associated with trends toward lower incidence of subclinical infarcts. Additionally, tuna/other fish intake was associated with better white matter grade, but not with sulcal and ventricular grades, markers of brain atrophy. No significant associations were found between fried fish consumption and any subclinical brain abnormalities. Conclusions: Among older adults, modest consumption of tuna/other fish, but not fried fish, was associated with lower prevalence of subclinical infarcts and white matter abnormalities on MRI examinations. Our results add to prior evidence that suggest that dietary intake of fish with higher eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid content, and not fried fish intake, may have clinically important health benefits.