Atherosclerosis and omega-3 fatty acids in the populations of a fishing village and a farming village in Japan

The effect of different dietary habits on atherosclerosis was investigated by examining the content of ordinary diets and relevant risk factors throug h a mass health survey on two village populations in Japan. In total, 261 i nhabitants in the fishing village and 209 in the farming village were exami ned for body build, blood pressure, and blood chemistry. Information on smo king habits and food consumption was obtained using a semi-quantitative ite m-frequency questionnaire. Pulse wave velocity of the aorta, intima-media t hickness of the carotid artery, and atherosclerotic plaques as obtained by ultrasonography were used as measures of atherosclerosis. All measures of a therosclerosis are lower in the fishing village than in the farming village in both men and women. There is a striking 5-8-fold difference in the numb er of atherosclerotic plaques (P < 0.0001) between the populations. The obs erved differences in atherosclerosis parallels differences in dietary habit s and differences in the serum essential fatty acids. Evaluation of the <om ega>-3 fatty acids over the combined populations reveals a negative associa tion with the number of plaques in the common carotid while the omega -6 fa tty acids shows a weak positive association with plaques. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.