Abstract
Experimental and clinical trial data suggest an association between fish oil intake and atrial fibrillation (AF). However, prior observational studies have reported conflicting results regarding this association. Thus, we sought to compare the association between dietary fish intake and incident AF in a large sample of older, postmenopausal women. We included 44,720 participants from the Women's Health Initiative clinical trials not enrolled in the dietary modification intervention arm and without AF at baseline. The dietary intake of non-fried fish and omega-3 fatty acid intake were estimated from a Food Frequency Questionnaire at study entry. Incident AF was determined by follow-up ECG at year 3 and year 6. Baseline characteristics and rates of incident AF were compared across quartiles (Q) of fish intake. Adjusted logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between dietary non-fried fish intake and incident AF. There were 378 incident cases of AF in follow-up. In age-adjusted models, there was no association between dietary non-fried fish intake and incident AF [odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) 1.17 (0.88–1.57) for Q 4 vs. Q 1 of dietary fish intake). Similar findings were observed in multivariable models and in subgroup analyses. In a large cohort of healthy women, we found no evidence of an association between fish or omega-3 fatty acid intake and incident AF.
