Nutraceutical: Omega 3s

Indication: Heart disease in young women

Source: Hypertension, January 2012;59(1): 36-43.

Research: Researchers used a Danish nationwide population based pregnancy cohort to examine whether or not eating more fish might reduce cardiovascular disease risk in young women. About 49,000 women—15-49 years old, median age of just under 30 years in early pregnancy—were interviewed by telephone or answered food frequency questionnaires about how much, what types and how often they ate fish, as well as lifestyle and family history questions. Researchers recorded 577 cardiovascular events during the eight-year period, including five cardiovascular deaths in women without any prior diagnosis of the disease. In all, 328 events were due to hypertensive disease, 146 from cerebrovascular disease, and 103 from ischemic heart disease.

Results: Inpatient and outpatient admission for cardiovascular disease was much more common among women who reported eating little or no fish. In three different assessments over a 30-week period, women who never ate fish had a three-fold higher disease risk compared to women who ate fish every week. Findings based on a large prospective cohort of relatively young and initially healthy women indicated that little or no intake of fish and long chain omega 3 fatty acids was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.