Abstract
Findings on the association between long-term intake of fish or long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) are inconsistent in observational studies. We conducted a meta-analysis of prospective studies to separately examine the associations between fish consumption and dietary intake of n-3 PUFAs with the risk of AF. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed and Embase to identify relevant studies. Risk estimates were combined using a random-effect model. Seven prospective cohort studies covering 206,811 participants and 12,913 AF cases were eligible. The summary relative risk of AF for the highest vs. lowest category of fish consumption and dietary intake of n-3 PUFAs was 1.01 (95% confidence interval: 0.94–1.09) and 1.03 (95% confidence interval: 0.97–1.09), respectively. These null associations persisted in subgroup and dose-response analyses. There was little evidence of publication bias. This meta-analysis suggests that neither long-term intake of fish, nor of n-3 PUFAs were significantly associated with lower risk of AF.
Highlights
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the major threats to cardiovascular health with a lifetime risk of about 25% [1,2] and a prevalence ranging from 5% to 15% among the elderly aged more than80 [3]
Emerging thereafter [7,8,17], we conducted this meta-analysis to examine the prospective associations between long-term dietary fish and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) intakes and risk of AF
Results indicated that high fish intake was not significantly associated with risk of AF (RR = 1.01; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.94–1.09) with no heterogeneity (p = 0.74, associated with risk of AF (RR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.94–1.09) with no heterogeneity (p = 0.74, I2 = 0.0%)
Summary
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the major threats to cardiovascular health with a lifetime risk of about 25% [1,2] and a prevalence ranging from 5% to 15% among the elderly aged more than. The trials including mostly high-risk population with short-term and high-dose supplementations may not be able to address the association of long-term dietary intake. A 2012 meta-analysis, including both prospective observational studies and clinical trials, found no association between fish/fish oil or n-3 PUFAs and risk of AF [15]. Given the limitations of the previous analyses and several new population-based prospective studies regarding the associations between dietary fish and/or n-3 PUFAs and risk of AF emerging thereafter [7,8,17], we conducted this meta-analysis to examine the prospective associations between long-term dietary fish and n-3 PUFAs intakes and risk of AF
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