Recommendations for Fish Intake by Postmenopausal Japanese

In Japan postmenopausal women have higher plasma levels of lipids than premenopausal women. Elevated plasma levels of lipids are risk factors for coronary events. As fish intake in Japan is high the intake of marine‑derived n‑3 fatty acids may be associated with a reduced risk of coronary events. Ninety‑one postmenopausal women（average age 64.7 ± 0.7 range: 51‑83 years old） who underwent a physical examination between April 2007 and March 2008 in the Yokohama district of Japan were recruited in the present study. Weekly frequency of fish intake was evaluated by questionnaire simultaneously with a medical examination of body features and plasma levels of lipids and hemoglobin A1c. Informed consent was obtained from each subject for the use of the data obtained. The present study was approved by our ethics committee. Body mass index and waist circumference were well correlated with a high coefficient（r=0.869）. Plasma triglyceride and total and low density lipoprotein‑cholesterol levels were reduced in subjects who ate fish more than 7 times a week（45.1 %）with a slight elevation in high density lipoprotein‑cholesterol levels compared with those who had fish less than 6 times a week i.e. 0 to 6 times a week（54.9 %）. The threshold of waist circumference for obesity in these postmenopausal women was calculated as 90.0 cm. Fish intake lowered triglyceride total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein‑cholesterol levels and slightly raised high density lipoprotein‑ cholesterol levels.