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Regular fish consumption and age-related brain gray matter loss
Raji CA, Erickson KI, Lopez OL, Kuller LH, Gach HM, Thompson PM, Riverol M, Becker JT.. American journal of preventive medicine, 2014-07-29
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Brain health may be affected by modifiable lifestyle factors; consuming fish and antioxidative omega-3 fatty acids may reduce brain structural abnormality risk. Purpose To determine whether dietary fish consumption is related to brain structural integrity among cognitively normal elders. Methods Data were analyzed from 260 cognitively normal individuals from the Cardiovascular Health Study with information on fish consumption from the National Cancer Institute Food Frequency Questionnaire and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The relationship between fish consumption data collected in 1989-1990 and brain structural MRI obtained in 1998-1999 was assessed using voxel-based morphometry in multiple regression analyses in 2012. Covariates were age, gender, race, education, white matter lesions, MRI-identified infarcts, waist-hip ratio, and physical activity as assessed by the number of city blocks walked in 1 week. Volumetric changes were further modeled with omega-3 fatty acid estimates to better understand the mechanistic link between fish consumption, brain health, and Alzheimer disease. Results Weekly consumption of baked or broiled fish was positively associated with gray matter volumes in the hippocampus, precuneus, posterior cingulate, and orbital frontal cortex even after adjusting for covariates. These results did not change when including omega-3 fatty acid estimates in the analysis. Conclusions Dietary consumption of baked or broiled fish is related to larger gray matter volumes independent of omega-3 fatty acid content. These findings suggest that a confluence of lifestyle factors influence brain health, adding to the growing body of evidence that prevention strategies for late-life brain health need to begin decades earlier.
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APA 7th
Raji, C. A., Erickson, K. I., Lopez, O. L., Kuller, L. H., Gach, H. M., Thompson, P. M., et al. (2014). Regular fish consumption and age-related brain gray matter loss. American journal of preventive medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2014.05.037
Vancouver
Raji CA, Erickson KI, Lopez OL, Kuller LH, Gach HM, Thompson PM, et al. Regular fish consumption and age-related brain gray matter loss. American journal of preventive medicine. 2014. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2014.05.037. PMID: 25084680.
BibTeX
@article{raji2014-25084680,
author = {Raji, C. A. and Erickson, K. I. and Lopez, O. L. and Kuller, L. H. and Gach, H. M. and Thompson, P. M. and Riverol, M. and Becker, J. T.},
title = {{Regular fish consumption and age-related brain gray matter loss}},
journal = {American journal of preventive medicine},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1016/j.amepre.2014.05.037},
pmid = {25084680},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2014.05.037}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Results Weekly consumption of baked or broiled fish was positively associated with gray matter volumes in the hippocampus, precuneus, posterior cingulate, and orbital frontal cortex even after adjusting for covariates.
- These results did not change when including omega-3 fatty acid estimates in the analysis.
- These findings suggest that a confluence of lifestyle factors influence brain health, adding to the growing body of evidence that prevention strategies for late-life brain health need to begin decades earlier.
Why it matters
In this study of cognitively normal older adults, weekly consumption of baked or broiled fish was associated with larger gray matter volumes in several brain regions. It suggests a possible link between diet and brain structure, but it does not show that fish consumption prevents or treats Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 46/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (American journal of preventive medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | American Journal of Preventive Medicine: journal h-index 316 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 103 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.4 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 16 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author James T. Becker: h-index 104 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, Los Angeles: institution h-index 1,923 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25084680) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 46 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.05.037
- PubMed: 25084680
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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