n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids, fish, and nonfatal acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND The relation between n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), fish intake, and risk of coronary heart disease is controversial. METHODS AND RESULTS An Italian case-control study including 507 patients with nonfatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 478 hospital controls found a multivariate odds ratio (OR) of 0.67 (95% CI, 0.47 to 0.95) for the highest n-3 PUFA intake and 0.68 (95% CI, 0.47 to 0.98) for an intake of >1 portion of fish per week compared with >/=2 portions per week. CONCLUSIONS Small amounts of n-3 PUFAs may be inversely related to AMI risk in this low-risk population.