Fish Consumption and Chronic Diseases: South Carolina BRFSS 2011-12 Survey Analysis

Background Fish consumption has been associated with reduced morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, major depression, respiratory diseases, and vision disorders. Our main objective was to examine associations between fish consumption and both chronic diseases and self-rated health in respondents to the South Carolina (SC) 2011 and 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys. 

Methods Fish consumption was categorized into: ≥3 times a week, 1-2 times a week, 1-3 times a month, <1 time a month, and no fish consumption. We used survey analysis methods to obtain prevalence of outcomes across fish consumption categories, and odds ratios (OR) were obtained for chronic diseases, and general and mental health status, adjusted for demographics, ethnicity, BMI and smoking status.

Results Fish consumption varied across demographic categories; in the highest consumption category, percentages were significantly higher for non-Hispanic blacks, those ≥45 years of age, and those with a college education (all p<0.0001). Additionally, higher fish consumption was associated with lower odds of heart attack (OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.51, 0.94), stroke (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.93), and fair/poor mental health (OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.52, 0.77) in adjusted models. Findings for additional chronic conditions were null.

Conclusions Higher fish consumption was associated with lower odds of some chronic conditions in adjusted models. This corroborates what has been observed in the literature for these outcomes. Future research directions include investigating patterns of chronic diseases in commercial versus sport fish consumption, as well as potential regional differences within SC.