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Correlates of regular fish consumption in French elderly community dwellers: data from the Three-City study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 59, pages 817–825 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

Several studies have found an inverse association between fish consumption and risk of dementia. The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of older fish consumers, in order to identify potential confounders in this relationship.

Design:

Cross-sectional analysis of the baseline data of a prospective cohort study.

Setting:

Bordeaux, Dijon, and Montpellier (France) in 1999–2000.

Subjects:

A total of 9280 community dwellers aged 65 y and above participating in the baseline examination of the Three-City Study.

Interventions:

All participants answered a face-to-face interview and underwent a physical examination. Cross-sectional analyses were performed by logistic regressions.

Results:

Regular fish consumers (at least weekly) had a higher education (OR from 1.19 to 1.65, P=0.0003) and income (OR from 1.37 to 1.89, P<0.0001). Controlling for age, sex, education, and city, they had a higher consumption of pulses, fruit, and vegetables (P<0.001). They were more often alcohol drinkers (P<0.0001). They felt in better health (P<0.05), exhibited less depressive symptoms (P<0.001), and scored higher on the Mini Mental Status Examination (P<0.05). However, their objective physical health status was not better, except that they were leaner. They suffered more often from hypertension and past stroke.

Conclusions:

Socioeconomic status, dietary habits, depression, and vascular risk factors could act as confounders in the relationship between fish consumption and risk of dementia.

Sponsorship and sources of funding:

The 3C Study is conducted under a partnership agreement between the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), the Victor Segalen – Bordeaux 2 University and the Sanofi-Aventis Company. The Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale funded the preparation and initiation of the study. The 3C-Study is also supported by the Caisse Nationale Maladie des Travailleurs Salariés, Conseils Régionaux of Aquitaine and Bourgogne, Direction Générale de la Santé, Fondation de France, GIS Longévité-Vieillissement, Ministry of Research-INSERM Programme ‘Cohortes et collections de données biologiques’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM U593, Université Victor Ségalen Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France

    P Barberger-Gateau, M-A Jutand, L Letenneur & S Larrieu

  2. Service d'Information Médicale, CHU de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

    P Barberger-Gateau

  3. Centre Gérontologique de Champmaillot, CHU de Dijon, Dijon, France

    B Tavernier

  4. INSERM E 0361, Montpellier, France

    C Berr

Authors
  1. P Barberger-Gateau
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  2. M-A Jutand
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  3. L Letenneur
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  4. S Larrieu
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  5. B Tavernier
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  6. C Berr
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for the 3C Study Group

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Correspondence to P Barberger-Gateau.

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Guarantor: P. Barberger-Gateau.

Contributors: PBG contributed to the protocol of the Three-City study, developed the rationale of this study, carried out the statistical analysis, and wrote the original draft. MAJ and LL helped in the statistical analysis. SL contributed to the data collection. LL, BT and CB contributed to the protocol of the Three-City study and to the management of the data collection. All the authors made a critical revision of the original draft.

Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition website (http://www.nature.com/ejcn)

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Barberger-Gateau, P., Jutand, MA., Letenneur, L. et al. Correlates of regular fish consumption in French elderly community dwellers: data from the Three-City study. Eur J Clin Nutr 59, 817–825 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602145

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