Absence of cardiovascular benefits and sportfish consumption among St. Lawrence River anglers

The benefits of sportfish consumption and omega-3 fatty acid (ω3-FA) intake for cardiovascular risk factors were evaluated in a sample of 112 male fishers from the St. Lawrence River in the Montreal area during the 1996 winter and fall fishing seasons. A questionnaire on fishing practices and fish consumption was administered, and fasting blood samples were collected for lipid and phospholipid determination. Linear regression analyses, which considered the confounding effect of major risk factors, did not show any significant association between measured ω3-FAs or reported fish intake and blood lipids or blood pressure. This study is limited by its low statistical power due to the small sample size and the possibility that the fish eaten by the participants were low in ω3-FAs or that the participants diets contained foods high in cholesterol-raising fat.