Seafood ChoiCeS

Seafood Choices: Balancing Benefits and Risks
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11762.html
hEALTh BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITh NUTRIENTS IN SEAFOOD
were 0.91 (95% CI 0.79-1.06) for individuals with seafood intake one to
three times/month, 0.87 (95% CI 0.77-0.98) for once/week, 0.82 (95% CI
0.72-0.94) for two to four times/week; and 0.69 (95% CI 0.54-0.88) for
five or more times/week (p for trend = 0.06).
Three large cohort studies with data on stroke subtypes were used in
a stratified meta-analysis to determine pooled RRs across five categories of
seafood intake for ischemic stroke. Compared to individuals who consumed
seafood less than once a month, the RRs were 0.69 (95% CI 0.48-0.99)
for individuals with seafood intake one to three times/month, 0.68 (95%
CI 0.52-0.88) for once/week, 0.66 (95% CI 0.51-0.87) for two to four
times/week; and 0.65 (95% CI 0.46-0.93) for five or more times/week (p
for trend = 0.24) (He et al., 2004a).
For hemorrhagic stroke, compared to individuals who consumed seafood
less than once a month, the RRs were 1.47 (95% CI 0.81-2.69) for
individuals with seafood intake one to three times/month, 1.21 (95% CI
0.78-1.85) for once/week, 0.89 (95% CI 0.56-1.40) for two to four times/
week, and 0.80 (95% CI 0.44-1.47) for five or more times/week (p for
trend = 0.31) (He et al., 2004a). In a separate recent meta-analysis, Bouzan
et al. (2005) quantified the association of seafood consumption with stroke
risk, based on five cohort studies and one case-control study. Although a
decrease of 12 percent in the risk of both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes
was observed with a small amount of seafood consumption compared to no
seafood consumption, this result was not statistically significant (95%CI:
increased risk of 1 percent to decreased risk of 25 percent). Furthermore,
there was no evidence for further decrease in the risk of strokes with increasing
seafood intake above a small amount: 2 percent decrease in risk
per serving per week (95%CI: increased risk of 2.7 percent to decreased
risk of 6.6 percent).
Skerrett and Hannekens (2003) reviewed ecologic/cross-sectional and
case-control studies of associations between consumption of seafood or
EPA/DHA and stroke risk. Five prospective studies showed inconsistent
results: no association, a possible inverse association, and three significant
inverse associations. In the most recent Nurses’ Health Study, the relative
risk for total stroke was somewhat lower among women who regularly ate
seafood compared to those who did not, although there was no significant
difference. After adjusting for age, smoking, and other cardiovascular risk
factors, a significant decrease in the risk for thrombotic stroke was observed
among women who ate seafood at least two times per week compared with
those who ate seafood less than once per month (RR=0.49; 95% CI 0.26-
0.93). The decrease observed among women in the highest quintile of EPA/
DHA intake was not significant nor was an association observed between
consumption of seafood or fish oil and hemorrhagic stroke.
Data from Mozaffarian et al. (2005) suggest that the type of seafood
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