N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, fish, and nonfatal acute myocardial infarction

Abstract

Background-The relation between n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), fish intake, and risk of coronary heart disease is controversial. Methods and Results-An Italian case-control study including 507 patients with nonfatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 478 hospital controls found a multivariate odds ratio (OR) of 0.67 (95% CI, 0.47 to 0.95) for the highest n-3 PUFA intake and 0.68 (95% CI, 0.47 to 0.98) for an intake of > 1 portion of fish per week compared with ≥2 portions per week. Conclusions-Small amounts of n-3 PUFAs may be inversely related to AMI risk in this low-risk population.