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High fish intake may reduce MS risk
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Consuming fish regularly is associated with a decreased risk for multiple sclerosis, according to a study that will be presented at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.
“Consuming fish that contain omega-3 fatty acids has been shown to have a variety of health benefits, so we wanted to see if this simple lifestyle modification, regularly eating fish and taking fish oil supplements, could reduce the risk of MS,” Annette Langer-Gould, MD, PhD, from Kaiser Permanente Southern California, said in a press release.
Langer-Gould and colleagues also investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in fatty acid genes and MS risk. They enrolled 1,153 multiethnic individuals (average age, 36 years) from the MS Sunshine Study and assessed their diets. Approximately half of participants had MS or clinically isolated syndrome and were matched to case controls.
Participants reported how much fish, such as salmon, tuna and shrimp, they ate regularly. The researchers defined high fish intake as consuming fish at least once a week or consuming one to three servings of fish a month while also taking fish oil supplements daily. They defined low fish intake as consuming less than one serving of fish each month and not taking fish oil supplements.
High fish intake was seen in 180 participants with MS and 251 healthy controls.
Results from the study showed that high fish intake reduced the risk for MS or clinically isolated syndrome by 45% (adjusted OR = 0.55; 95% CI, 0.4-0.75), compared with low fish intake.
Additionally, the researchers found that two tag SNPs — rs174611 and rs174618 — in the fatty acid desaturase 2 gene independently lowered MS risk. The aOR was 0.66 for rs174611 and 0.64 for rs174618. These associations remained after controlling for high fish intake.
The researchers note that salmon, sardines, lake trout and albacore tuna are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
“Patients with MS often ask about what can be done to reduce the risk of MS in their children or siblings,” Langer-Gould told Healio Internal Medicine. “This study provides some evidence that a diet high in fish/seafood/omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of developing MS — in addition to promoting improved cardiovascular health — and certainly is not harmful.”
“The next step is try and replicate our findings in another dataset,” she said. “If our findings are confirmed, it will be important to determine whether the protective effect is mediated by the anti-inflammatory, metabolic and/or neuroprotective actions of omega-3 fatty acids and whether fish/fish oil consumption could improve MS prognosis.”
Langer-Gould said that while the study did not establish that an MS prognosis could be improved with a diet rich in fish and omega-3 fatty acids, growing evidence suggests that patients with MS and comorbid CVD have worse functional outcomes.
Physicians should make sure that patients with MS do not develop another chronic disease, such as CVD or type 2 diabetes, she said.
“Thus, a diet rich in fish/omega-3 fatty acids is likely to be helpful for patients with MS, at the very least to reduce their risk of CVD,” she said. – by Alaina Tedesco
Reference:
Langer-Gould A, et al. “Fish, fatty acid biosynthesis genes and multiple sclerosis susceptibility.” Presented at: American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting. April 21-27, 2018; Los Angeles.
Disclosure: Healio Internal Medicine was unable to confirm relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.