THE EFFECT OF 26 YEARS OF HABITUAL FISH CONSUMPTION ON SERUM-LIPID AND LIPOPROTEIN LEVELS (THE ZUTPHEN STUDY)

An inverse association was found between fish consumption and coronary heart disease in the Zutphen Study. In the present study the long-ter m effects of a small amount of fish on serum lipids and lipoproteins w as investigated. Forty healthy, elderly men whose fish consumption pat tern over the previous 26-year period was known, were selected for the present study. The 15 men in the control group consumed, on average, about 2 g of fish per day, and the 25 habitual fish consumers ate, on average, about 33 g of fish per day during the study period The choles terol content of the different lipoprotein fractions did not differ be tween the two groups. The average total triglyceride level and the ave rage triglycerine level of the atherogenic IDL fraction were respectiv ely 26% and 38% (p<0.05) lower in the habitual fish consumers than in the controls. These results suggest that a habitual fish consumption o f about 30 g per day for more than 25 years is an effective measure fo r lowering serum triglyceride levels.