Eating fish protects against stroke

New York - More evidence that fish consumption reduces the chances of having a stroke comes from an analysis of results from several large studies.

In fact, the findings suggest that "the incidence of ischemic stroke might be significantly reduced by consuming fish as seldom as 1 to 3 times per month," Dr. Ka He, at Northwestern University in Chicago, and associates comment in their report in the medical journal Stroke.

Ischemic stroke refers to a blockage of blood supply to the brain, as opposed to hemorrhagic stroke, which is caused by bleeding in the brain.

The team's search of the medical literature on the topic of risk factors for stroke turned up eight independent studies published since published since 1966. All told, there were more than 200,000 study participants aged 34 to 103 years, who were followed for anywhere from 4 years to 30 years.

Most studies were conducted in the U.S.; one was from Europe, one from China and one from Japan.

The risk of stroke was 13 percent lower among those who ate fish at least once weekly compared with those who did so less than once per month, and the results were consistent across most studies.

However, the benefit was limited largely to reduced risk of ischemic stroke. The three large studies that included data regarding different types of stroke showed no less risk for hemorrhagic stroke with increasing fish intake.

Dr. He's group cautions that these findings should not be presumed to mean that fish oil supplements would provide the same benefit. They say the possibility that other, unknown components of fish should get the credit "cannot be ruled out." -- Reuters

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