Regional differences in hypertensive cardiovascular remodeling between fishing and farming communities in Japan

Abstract

Background Effects of dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) intake on the cardiovascular system have been reported, and thus we hypothesized that the prevalence of hypertensive cardiovascular remodeling would be lower in a fishing than a farming community.MethodsWe recruited 263 essential hypertensives from a fishing and 333 from a farming village; all subjects were 40 years (mean 73 years; 42% men). They were cross-sectionally examined for serum eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels, left ventricular mass index (LVMI), and common-carotid artery (CCA) and internal-carotid artery (ICA) intima-media thickness (IMT).ResultsCompared to the patients in the farming village, those in the fishing village had higher serum EPA and DHA levels (63.3 vs.70.9νg/ml, 137.2 vs.157.8νg/ml) and lower ADMA levels (0.49 vs.0.47nmol/ml; all P 0.05). LVMI and both CCA-IMT and ICA-IMT levels were lower in the fishing than the farming village (113.2 vs.121.6g/m2, 0.88 vs.0.94mm, 1.10 vs.1.17mm all P 0.01) even after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), duration of hypertensive medication, number of antihypertensive medications, and 24-h systolic blood pressure (SBP) level. The differences in LVMI and IMT levels between these communities also remained unchanged (all P 0.01) after additional adjustment for the regional differences in EPA, DHA, and ADMA levels. A multivariable linear regression analysis showed that the difference in place of residence was independently associated with LVMI as well as with both CCA-IMT and ICA-IMT levels (all P 0.01).ConclusionThe prevalence of cardiovascular remodeling was significantly lower in patients in the fishing community than in those in the farming community. Further investigations are required to explain the mechanisms underlying this association. © 2011 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.