(20-03-06) Eating Fish Weekly Linked to Slower Cognitive Loss After Age 65

Consuming fish or long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFAs) has been associated with improved cognitive function in the elderly and middle-aged, and to reduced risk of Alzheimer?s disease, a loss of mental ability that mars the golden years. The potential health benefit to the increasing number of older people that might accrue from prudent dietary choices, such as eating fish regularly, could be immense in both quality of life and economic benefits.

To determine whether fish consumption was linked to cognitive function in residents of Illinois aged 65 or older, Dr. Martha Clare Morris and colleagues at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, USA, studied over 4,000 black and white men and women for 6 years. The participants, 3,718 men and women, were part of an ongoing study called the Chicago Health and Aging Project. Information about fish consumption was obtained from food frequency questionnaires and used to estimate n-3 PUFA intake. Cognitive function was measured by 4 tests: the East Boston Tests of Immediate and Delayed Recall, Mini-Mental State Examination, and Symbol Digit Modalities Test. A global measure of cognition was obtained by averaging results from the four tests. Standardized scores were determined using the baseline population mean and standard deviation.


Fish consumption was relatively low, with 43% of participants consuming less than one fish meal/week. Twenty-one percent consumed fish 2 or more times/week and 36% once a week. Those who ate fish were more likely to have a cardiovascular-related health condition and to be black. As shown in Figure 1, rate of cognitive decline, expressed as standardized units/year, decreased as the number of fish meals consumed per week increased. The analysis was adjusted for age, energy intake, sex, race, education, cognitive and physical activity, alcohol consumption, and time interactions with each term. Rate of decline was reduced by 10% to 13% per year among people who consumed one or more fish meals/week compared with those eating fish less than weekly. The authors indicated that such a reduced rate of cognitive decline would be equivalent to being 3 to 4 years younger.

The authors noted that there was no association between intakes of n-3 PUFAs and cognitive change. This observation may reflect the limitations of food frequency consumption data. Overall, the study supports previous observations from others and suggests that eating fish at least once a week may reduce or slow the cognitive decline associated with older age. More precise intervention studies would be expected to further our understanding of these observations.
Morris MC, Evans DA, Tangney CC, Bienias JL, Wilson RS. Fish consumption and cognitive decline with age in a large community study.

Arch Neurol 2005;62:1849-1853.

N.B. Vedi allegato

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