OBJECTIVE:

To assess the level of fish consumption as a risk factor fo r stroke.

METHODS:

Participants were members of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study, a longitudinal cohort study of a national sample. Included in this analysis were white and black women and men aged 45 to 74 years when examined in 1971 through 1975 who did not report a history of stroke at that time. Average follow-up for survivors was 12 years (maximum, 16 years). The main outcome measure was incident stroke (fatal and nonfatal). Fish consumption at baseline was obtained from a 3-month food frequency questionnaire.

RESULTS:

White women aged 45 to 74 years who consumed fish more than once a week had an age-adjusted risk of stroke incidence only about half that of women who never consumed fish. This effect persisted after controlling for multiple stroke risk variables (relative risk, 0.55;95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32 to 0.93). Fish consumption more than once a week compared with never was not associated with age-adjusted stroke risk in white men aged 45 to 74 years (relative risk, 0.85;95%CI,0.49 to 1.46). In black women and men combined aged 45 to 74 years, any fish consumption compared with never was significantly associated with reduced adjusted stroke risk (relative risk, 0.51;95%CI,0.30 to 0.88).