Consumption of Fish and n-3 Fatty Acids
and Risk of Incident Alzheimer Disease

This section is compiled by Frank M. Painter, D.C.
Send all comments or additions to:    Frankp@chiro.org

FROM:   Arch Neurol 2003 (Jul);   60 (7):   940–946

Morris MC, Evans DA, Bienias JL, Tangney CC, Bennett DA, Wilson RS, Aggarwal N, Schneider J

Rush Institute for Healthy Aging,
Departments of Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine,
Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center,
and Departments of Clinical Nutrition,
Neurological Sciences, and Psychology,
Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center,
Chicago, Ill.

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BACKGROUND:   Dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids improve brain functioning in animal studies, but there is limited study of whether this type of fat protects against Alzheimer disease.

OBJECTIVE:   To examine whether fish consumption and intake of different types of n-3 fatty acids protect against Alzheimer disease.

DESIGN:   Prospective study conducted from 1993 through 2000, of a stratified random sample from a geographically defined community. Participants were followed up for an average of 3.9 years for the development of Alzheimer disease.Patients A total of 815 residents, aged 65 to 94 years, who were initially unaffected by Alzheimer disease and completed a dietary questionnaire on average 2.3 years before clinical evaluation of incident disease.Main Outcome Measure Incident Alzheimer disease diagnosed in a structured neurologic examination by means of standardized criteria.

RESULTS:   A total of 131 sample participants developed Alzheimer disease. Participants who consumed fish once per week or more had 60% less risk of Alzheimer disease compared with those who rarely or never ate fish (relative risk, 0.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.2-0.9) in a model adjusted for age and other risk factors. Total intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer disease, as was intake of docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3). Eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) was not associated with Alzheimer disease. The associations remained unchanged with additional adjustment for intakes of other dietary fats and of vitamin E and for cardiovascular conditions.

CONCLUSION:   Dietary intake of n-3 fatty acids and weekly consumption of fish may reduce the risk of incident Alzheimer disease.

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