A U-shaped association between consumption of marine n-3 fatty acids and development of atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter-a Danish cohort study.

Abstract

AIMS:

Previous studies have suggested a lower risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) with higher intakes of fish and marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), but the results have been inconsistent. The aim was to investigate the association between consumption of marine n-3 PUFA and development of AF.

METHODS AND RESULTS:

A total of 57 053 Danish participants 50-64 years of age were enrolled in the Diet, Cancer, and Health Cohort Study between 1993 and 1997. Dietary intake of fish and marine n-3 PUFA was assessed by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. In total, 3345 incident cases of AF occurred over 13.6 years. Multivariate Cox regression analyses (3284 cases and 55 246 participants) using cubic splines showed a U-shaped association between consumption of marine n-3 PUFA and risk of incident AF, with the lowest risk of AF at a moderate intake of 0.63 g/day. For quintiles of marine n-3 PUFA intake, a 13% statistically significant lower risk of AF was seen in the middle vs. lowest quintile: Q1 reference, Q2 HR 0.92 (95% CI 0.82-1.03), Q3 HR 0.87 (95% CI 0.78-0.98), Q4 HR 0.96 (95% CI 0.86-1.08), and Q5 HR 1.05 (95% CI 0.93-1.18). Intake of total fish, fatty fish, and the individual n-3 PUFA eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and docosapentaenoic acid also showed U-shaped associations with incident AF.

CONCLUSION:

We found a U-shaped association between consumption of marine n-3 PUFA and risk of incident AF, with the lowest risk close to the median intake of total marine n-3 PUFA (0.63 g/day).

• Authors: Thomas A Rix, Albert M Joensen, Sam Riahi, Søren Lundbye-Christensen, Anne Tjønneland, Erik B Schmidt, Kim Overvad
• Journal: Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology (Europace) Vol. 16 Issue 11 Pg. 1554-61 (Nov 2014) ISSN: 1532-2092 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 24574493 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2014. For permissions please email: [email protected].

Chemical References

• Fatty Acids, Omega-3
• Fatty Acids, Unsaturated
• Docosahexaenoic Acids
• Eicosapentaenoic Acid
• docosapentaenoic acid

Topics

• Animals
• Atrial Fibrillation (diagnosis, epidemiology, prevention & control)
• Atrial Flutter (diagnosis, epidemiology, prevention & control)
• Denmark (epidemiology)
• Diet
• Docosahexaenoic Acids (administration & dosage)
• Eicosapentaenoic Acid (administration & dosage)
• Fatty Acids, Omega-3 (administration & dosage)
• Fatty Acids, Unsaturated (administration & dosage)
• Female
• Fishes
• Humans
• Incidence
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Multivariate Analysis
• Nonlinear Dynamics
• Proportional Hazards Models
• Protective Factors
• Registries
• Risk Assessment
• Risk Factors
• Risk Reduction Behavior
• Seafood
• Surveys and Questionnaires