Dietary intake of n-3, n-6 fatty acids and fish: Relationship with hostility in young adults—the CARDIA study

Abstract

Background: Hostility has been shown to predict both the development and manifestation of coronary disease. Examining the inter-relation of dietary intake of fish and of polyunsaturated (n-3 and n-6) essential fatty acids with hostility may provide additional insights into the cardioprotective effect of dietary fish and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Objective: To examine the association of dietary n-3, n-6 fatty acids and fish with level of hostility in a sample of 3581 urban white and black young adults. Design: Cross-sectional observational study as part of an ongoing cohort study. A dietary assessment in 1992-1993 and measurement of hostility and other covariates in 1990-1991 were used in the analysis. Results: The multivariate odds ratios of scoring in the upper quartile of hostility (adjusting for age, sex, race, field center, educational attainment, marital status, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity) associated with one standard deviation increase in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6) intake was 0.90 (95% CI ¼ 0.82-0.98; P ¼ 0.02). Consumption of any fish rich in n-3 fatty acids, compared to no consumption, was also independently associated with lower odds of high hostility (OR ¼ 0.82; 95% CI ¼ 0.69-0.97; P ¼ 0.02). Conclusions: These results suggest that high dietary intake of DHA and consumption of fish rich in n-3 fatty acids may be related to lower likelihood of high hostility in young adulthood. The association between dietary n-3 fatty acids and hostile personality merits further research.

Associations between increases in plasma n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids following supplementation and decreases in anger and anxiety in substance abusers

“…Rates of homicides are greater in countries with lower seafood intake (Hibbeln, 2001). This is consistent with a study showing that a reduced plasma level of DHA predicted greater hostility in violent male subjects with antisocial personality (Virkkunen et al, 1987) and with other data showing that young adults whose dietary intake of DHA and fish was high had a lower likelihood of high hostility (Iribarren et al, 2004). Few studies have investigated the effects of n-3 supplements on hostility or aggression.…”

The relationship between folate and docosahexaenoic acid in men

“…In addition, a number of disorders suggested to benefit from treatment with fish oil are associated with low folate or with a marker of low folate status, homocysteine (Jacob et al, 1994). These disorders include Crohn's disease (Belluzzi et al, 1996;Chowers et al, 2000), rheumatoid arthritis (Kremer et al, 1987;Schroecksnadel et al, 2003), mania (Hasanah et al, 1997;Stoll et al, 1999a, b) and hostility (Stoney and Engebretson, 2000;Iribarren et al, 2004). One study suggests that folate, like fish oil, can lower triglycerides, LDL and cholesterol (Connor et al, 1993;McGregor et al, 2000).…”

“…We studied a subject group in which DHA concentrations may be critical: individuals with a history of aggressive behavior. Low plasma concentrations of DHA are associated with aggressive behavior (Virkkunen et al, 1987;Iribarren et al, 2004), while supplementation with n-3 PUFA can improve emotional regulation. N-3 PUFA has been shown to reduce hostility in students (Hamazaki et al, 1996), aggressive outbursts in borderline personality disorder patients (Zanarini and Frankenburg, 2003), hospitalization rates in bipolar patients (Stoll et al, 1999a, b) and felony level violence in British prisoners when combined with multiple vitamins (Gesch et al, 2002).…”

Is there a role forn-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the regulation of mood and behaviour? A review of the evidence to date from epidemiological studies, clinical studies and intervention trials

“…Epidemiological investigation of associations between n-3PUFA intake and hostility have been undertaken in one study, using diet histories and self-report hostility measured using the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (148) in 3581 young adults (149) . This study found negative associations between hostility and DHA content of the diet and consumption of fish rich in n-3PUFA.…”