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Author(s): Mitsumasa Umesawa [sup.1] [sup.2] , Kazumasa Yamagishi [sup.2] [sup.3] , Hiroyasu Iso [sup.2] [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, Mibu, Japan (2) Department of Public [...], Since the 1970s, the potential benefit of fish intake in terms of noncommunicable diseases has been one of the most important themes in disease prevention. Epidemiological studies have revealed the extent to which fish consumption affects the incidence of and mortality from diseases. Meta-analyses summarized the effect of fish and long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake on noncommunicable diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases in Western countries. However, few reviews have spotlighted the effect of fish intake in East-Asian countries that have high population levels of fish intake such as Japan. We narratively reviewed the epidemiological studies concerned with the associations of fish and long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake with risk of noncommunicable diseases, mainly of cardiovascular disease, among Japanese, whose fish intake has been twice or more than that of most Westerners. Overall, fish or long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake may be beneficial for prevention of noncommunicable diseases, especially coronary heart disease and heart failure in Japanese as well as in Westerners. However, the beneficial effects of their intakes seemed to be nonlinear and varied according to disease severity and culture. Studies on other noncommunicable disease were also narratively reviewed.

Author(s): Yeonji Yang [sup.1] , Youjin Je [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of Food and Nutrition, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea Introduction According to the World Health Organization, depression [...], Background/objectives There is a growing body of evidence that supports the potential role of fish consumption in relation to depression, but the data in Korean population is scarce. Thus, we examined the association between fish consumption and depression in Korean adults. Subjects/methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in 9183 Korean adults aged 19-64 years who participated in the 6TH Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2015), which is a large nationally representative study of Korean population. Fish consumption and depression status were assessed using questionnaires. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to compute odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for physician-diagnosed clinical depression. Results Out of the 9183 subjects, 389 (4.2%) were diagnosed with depression. After adjusting for potential confounders, the multivariable-adjusted ORs for clinical depression across fish consumption were 1.00 (reference) for Conclusions Our findings suggest that high consumption of fish is associated with lower odds of depression in Korean adults, particularly in women. These results warrant further prospective studies to verify the association between fish consumption and risk of depression in Korean adults.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) disease is caused by S. agalactiae, a commensal bacterium that can be isolated from genitourinary and gastrointestinal tracts of up to 30% of healthy adults. GBS [...]

Introduction Mercury is a metal existing naturally in the earth's crust. Through a combination of natural and anthropogenic processes, mercury gets deposited in water and becomes methyl mercury through biotransformation [...], The health effects of mercury in humans are mostly on the developing nervous system. Pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding must be targeted in order to decrease mercury exposure to the populations at highest risk--infants, unborn fetuses, and young children. This purpose of this study is to understand the demographics of fish-consumption patterns among women of childbearing age (including pregnant women) in Martin County, Florida, and to analyze the associations of mercury levels in participants' hair with socio-demographic variables in order to better design prevention messages and campaigns. Mercury concentrations in hair samples of 408 women ages 18-49 were assessed. Data on demographic factors, pregnancy status, fish consumption, and awareness of fish advisories were collected during personal interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression. The geometric and arithmetic means of hair mercury concentration were 0.371 and 0.676 µg/g of hair. One-fourth of the respondents had a concentration ≥ 1 µg/g of hair. Consuming a higher number of fish meals per month, consumption of commercially purchased or locally caught fish higher in mercury, White race and income ≥ $75, 000 were positively associated with the likelihood of having higher hair mercury levels. This study confirms the existence of a higher overall mean hair mercury level and a higher percentage of women with [greater than or equal to] 1 µg/g hair mercury level than those reported at the national level and in other regional studies. This suggests the need for region-specific fish consumption advisories to minimize mercury exposure in humans. Keywords Fish consumption * Hair * Mercury * Women of childbearing age

INTRODUCTION Metabolic syndrome (MetS), as a constellation of metabolic disturbances, is a well-established predictor of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and all-cause mortality. (1-3) Although the prevalence of MetS differs [...], BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Although fish consumption has inversely been associated with several metabolic abnormalities, limited and inconsistent data have reported the relationship between fish consumption and metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to identify the association between fish consumption and metabolic syndrome and its components. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a cross-sectional study conducted on 420 Iranian female adults, usual fish consumption was assessed using a dish-based semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Fasting blood samples were taken for biochemical assessment. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were carried out according to standard protocols. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. Multivariate logistic regression adjusted for lifestyle and dietary variables was applied to assess fish-metabolic syndrome association. RESULTS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 8.2%. Mean daily intake of fish was 14.4g per day. Individuals in the highest tertile of fish intake were 65% less likely to have the metabolic syndrome than those in the lowest tertile (odds ratio: 0.35;95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14-0.88). Controlling for potential confounders and dietary variables strengthened this association (odds ratio: 0.05;95% CI: 0.004-0.64). After adjustment for potential cofounders, high fish intake was inversely associated with hypertriglyceridemia (odds ratio: 0.11;95% CI: 0.01-0.85), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (odds ratio: 0.57;95% CI: 0.19-0.89) and elevated blood pressure (odds ratio: 0.23;95% CI: 0.14-0.89). CONCLUSIONS: We found that increased fish intake was independently related to the lower odds of metabolic syndrome and its features. Further prospective investigations are warranted to confirm this association. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2014) 68, 474-480; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2014.5; published online 19 February 2014 Keywords: fish intake; metabolic syndrome; cardiovascular risk factors; females; cross-sectional

INTRODUCTION Specific adverse fetal and infant exposures might lead to the development of asthma and atopic disease. (1-3) Suboptimal maternal diet during pregnancy is one of these exposures, which might [...], BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Maternal fish consumption during pregnancy might influence the fetal immune system through anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3 fatty acids, and might affect the risks of childhood asthma and atopy. In Generation R, a prospective cohort study in the Netherlands, we examined the associations of first trimester fish consumption with childhood wheezing and eczema in the first 4 years of life. METHODS: In total, 2976 mothers completed a 293-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire covering dietary intake in the first trimester. The occurrence of wheezing and eczema was yearly assessed by questionnaires. RESULTS: Median weekly fish consumption was 83 (95% range 0-316) grams per week. We observed no consistent associations of maternal total-, lean- or fatty-fish consumption during pregnancy with the risks of childhood wheezing. Maternal shellfish consumption of 1-13 g per week was associated with overall increased risks of childhood wheezing and eczema (OR 1.20 (1.04, 1.40) and OR 1.18 (1.01, 1.37), respectively). Maternal fatty fish consumption of 35-69 g per week was associated with increased overall risks of childhood eczema (OR 1.17 (1.00, 1.38)), but maternal total- or lean-fish consumption was not. CONCLUSIONS: During pregnancy, shellfish consumption was associated with increased risks of wheezing and eczema, while fatty fish consumption was associated with a higher risk of eczema only. Maternal total fish or lean fish consumption were not associated with wheezing or eczema. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings and to explore underlying mechanisms. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2013) 67, 353-359; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2013.36; published online 27 February 2013 Keywords: pregnancy; fish consumption; asthma symptoms; eczema; cohort study; atopy

INTRODUCTION Fish consumption has been hypothesized to be associated with a reduced risk of stroke, but epidemiological studies showed inconsistent results and most of them have not separated ischemic stroke [...], BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To provide a reliable assessment of the hypothesized association of fish consumption with stroke risk accumulatively, an updated meta-analysis of published prospective cohort studies was conducted. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Prospective cohort studies through April 2012 in peer-reviewed journals indexed in MEDLINE and EMBASE were selected. Additional information was retrieved through Google or a search of the reference list in relevant articles. The main outcome measure was the weighted hazards ratio (HR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for incident stroke according to fish consumption using a random-effects model. RESULTS: A database was derived from 16 eligible studies (19 cohorts), including 402 127 individuals (10 568 incident cases) with an average 12.8 years of follow-up. Compared with those who never consumed fish or ate fish < 1/month, the pooled adjusted HRs of total stroke risk were 0.97 (95% CI, 0.87-1.08), 0.86 (0.80-0.93), 0.91 (0.85-0.98) and 0.87 (0.79-0.96) for those who consumed fish 1-3/month, 1/week, 2-4/week and ≥ 5/week, respectively ([P.sub.linear trend] = 0.09; [P.sub.nonlinear trend] = 0.02). Study location was a modifier. An inverse association between fish intake and stroke incidence was only found by studies conducted in North America. The modest inverse associations were more pronounced with ischemic stroke and were attenuated with hemorrhagic stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Accumulated evidence generated from this meta-analysis suggests that fish intake may have a protective effect against the risk of stroke, particularly ischemic stroke. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2012.133; published online 3 October 2012 Keywords: fish; stroke; cohort studies; meta-analysis

Streptococcus iniae is a major fish pathogen in many regions of the world. These bacteria are also zoonotic with infections in humans associated with the handling and preparation of infected [...]

Broad tapeworms such as Diphyllobothrium latum and D. nihonkaiense are exotic parasites that grow as long as 12 meters in the small intestine. By the mid-19th century, infection with the [...]

Opisthorchis felineus is a trematode that is transmitted to humans through the consumption of raw freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. Worldwide, the number of cases of human infection has [...]