Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-xxrs7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T15:29:22.271Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Variability of fish consumption within the 10 European countries participating in the European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

AA Welch*
Affiliation:
Strangeways Research Laboratory, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Wort's Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN, UK
E Lund
Affiliation:
Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway
P Amiano
Affiliation:
Public Health Division of Gipuzkoa, Department of Health of the Basque Government, San Sebastian, Spain.
M Dorronsoro
Affiliation:
Public Health Division of Gipuzkoa, Department of Health of the Basque Government, San Sebastian, Spain.
M Brustad
Affiliation:
Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway
M Kumle
Affiliation:
Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway
M Rodriguez
Affiliation:
Granada Cancer Registry, Andalusian School of Public Health, Granada, Spain
C Lasheras
Affiliation:
Department of Functional Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oviedo, Spain
L Janzon
Affiliation:
Department of Community Medicine, Malmö University Hospital, Sweden
J Jansson
Affiliation:
Reseach Centre for Endocrinology and Metabolism, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden
R Luben
Affiliation:
Strangeways Research Laboratory, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Wort's Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN, UK
EA Spencer
Affiliation:
Cancer Research UK, Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, UK
K Overvad
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Denmark
A Tjønneland
Affiliation:
Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark
F Clavel-Chapelon
Affiliation:
INSERM, E3N–EPIC Group, Institute Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France
J Linseisen
Affiliation:
Division of Clinical Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany
K Klipstein-Grobusch
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition, Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany
V Benetou
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Greece
X Zavitsanos
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Greece
R Tumino
Affiliation:
Cancer Registry, ‘Civile – M.P. Arezzo’ Hospital, Ragusa, Italy
R Galasso
Affiliation:
Institute of Internal Medicine and Metabolic Diseases, University of Naples, Italy
HB Bueno-de-Mesquita
Affiliation:
Department of Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The, Netherlands
MC Ocké
Affiliation:
Department of Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The, Netherlands
UR Charrondière
Affiliation:
International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
N Slimani
Affiliation:
International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
*
*Corresponding author: Email ailsa.welch@srl.cam.ac.uk
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective:

To describe and compare the consumption of total fish (marine foods) and the fish sub-groups – white fish, fatty fish, very fatty fish, fish products and crustacea, in participants from the European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.

Design:

Cross-sectional analysis of dietary intake using a computerised standardised 24-hour recall interview. Crude means, means and standard errors adjusted by age, season and day of the week were calculated, stratified by centre and gender.

Setting:

Twenty-seven redefined centres in the 10 European countries participating in the EPIC study.

Subjects:

In total, 35 955 subjects (13 031 men and 22 924 women), aged 35–74 years, selected from the main EPIC cohort.

Results:

A six- to sevenfold variation in total fish consumption exists in women and men, between the lowest consumption in Germany and the highest in Spain. Overall, white fish represented 49% and 45% of the intake of total fish in women and men, respectively, with the greatest consumption in centres in Spain and Greece and the least in the German and Dutch centres. Consumption of fatty fish reflected that of total fish. However, the greatest intake of very fatty fish was in the coastal areas of northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden and Norway) and in Germany. Consumption of fish products was greater in northern than in southern Europe, with white fish products predominating in centres in France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands and Norway. Intake of roe and roe products was low. The highest consumption of crustacea was found in the French, Spanish and Italian centres. The number of fish types consumed was greater in southern than in northern Europe. The greatest variability in consumption by day of the week was found in the countries with the lowest fish intake.

Conclusions:

Throughout Europe, substantial geographic variation exists in total fish intake, fish sub-groups and the number of types consumed. Day-to-day variability in consumption is also high.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © CABI Publishing 2002

References

1World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)/American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR). Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective. Washington, DC: WCRF/AICR, 1997.Google Scholar
2UK Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition (COMA). Nutritional Aspects of the Development of Cancer. Report on Health and Social Subjects No. 48. London: HMSO, 1998.Google Scholar
3International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Some Naturally Occurring Substances: Food Items and Constituents, Heterocyclic Amines and Mycotoxins. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks of Chemicals to Humans. Vol. 56. Lyon, France: IARC, 1997.Google Scholar
4Caygill, CP, Charlett, A, Hill, MJ. Fat, fish, fish oil and cancer. Br. J. Cancer. 1996; 74(1): 159–64.Google Scholar
5Fernandez, E, Chatenoud, L, La Vecchia, C, Negri, E, Franceschi, S. Fish consumption and cancer risk. Am. J. Clin. Nutr.. 1999; 70(1): 8590.Google Scholar
6De Deckere, EA. Possible beneficial effect of fish and fish n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in breast and colorectal cancer. Review. Eur. J. Cancer Prev. 1999; 8(3): 213–21.Google Scholar
7Norrish, AE, Skeaff, CM, Arribas, GL, Sharpe, SJ, Jackson, RT. Prostate cancer risk and consumption of fish oils: a dietary biomarker-based case–control study. Br. J. Cancer. 1999; 81(7): 1238–42.Google Scholar
8Terry, P, Lichtenstein, P, Feychting, M, Ahlbom, A, Wolk, A. Fatty fish consumption and risk of prostate cancer. Lancet. 2001; 357(9270): 1764–6.Google Scholar
9Menotti, A, Kromhout, D, Blackburn, H, Fidanza, F, Buzina, R, Nissinen, A. Food intake patterns and 25-year mortality from coronary heart disease: cross-cultural correlations in the Seven Countries Study. The Seven Countries Study Research Group. Eur. J. Epidemiol. 1999; 15(6): 507–15.Google Scholar
10Marckmann, P, Gronbaek, M. Fish consumption and coronary heart disease mortality. A systematic review of prospective cohort studies. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 1999; 53(8): 585–90.Google Scholar
11Zhang, J, Sasaki, S, Amano, K, Kesteloot, H. Fish consumption and mortality from all causes, ischemic heart disease, and stroke: an ecological study. Prev. Med. 1999; 28(5): 520–9.Google Scholar
12Oomen, CM, Feskens, EJ, Rasanen, L, Fidanza, F, Nissinen, AM, Menotti, A, et al. Fish consumption and coronary heart disease mortality in Finland, Italy, and The Netherlands. Am. J. Epidemiol. 2000; 151(10): 9991006.Google Scholar
13Schmidt, EB, Skou, HA, Christensen, JH, Dyerberg, J. n–3 Fatty acids from fish and coronary artery disease: implications for public health. Review. Public Health Nutr. 2000; 3(1): 91–8.Google Scholar
14Nestel, P. Fish oil and cardiovascular disease: lipids and arterial function. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2000; 71(1): 228–31.Google Scholar
15Hallgren, CG, Hallmans, G, Jansson, JH, Marklund, SL, Huhtasaari, F, Schutz, A, et al. Markers of high fish intake are associated with decreased risk of a first myocardial infarction. Br. J. Nutr. 2001; 86(3): 397404.Google Scholar
16Connor, WE. n–3 Fatty acids from fish and fish oil: panacea or nostrum? Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2001; 74(4): 415–6.Google Scholar
17Holland, B, Brown, J, Buss, DH. Fish and Fish Products. Third Supplement to McCance & Widdowson's The Composition of Foods, 5th ed. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, 1993.Google Scholar
18Garrow, JS, James, WPT. Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 9th ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1993.Google Scholar
19Fatty Acids. Supplement to McCance & Widdowson's The Composition of Foods. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry/Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 1998.Google Scholar
20Bønaa, KH, Bjerve, KS, Nordøy, A. Habitual fish consumption, plasma phospholipid fatty acids, and serum lipids: The Tromsø Study. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1992; 55: 1126–34.Google Scholar
21Svensson, BG, Akesson, B, Nilsson, A, Skerfving, S. Fatty acid composition of serum phosphatidylcholine in healthy subjects consuming varying amounts of fish. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 1993; 47(2): 132–40.Google Scholar
22Tjonneland, A, Overvad, K, Thorling, E, Ewertz, M. Adipose tissue fatty acids as biomarkers of dietary exposure in Danish men and women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1993; 57(5): 629–33.Google Scholar
23Marckmann, P, Lassen, A, Haraldsdottir, J, Sandstrom, B. Biomarkers of habitual fish intake in adipose tissue. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1995; 62(5): 956–9.Google Scholar
24Anttolainen, M, Valsta, LM, Alfthan, G, Kleemola, P, Salminen, I, Tamminen, M. Effect of extreme fish consumption on dietary and plasma antioxidant levels and fatty acid composition. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 1996; 50(11): 741–6.Google Scholar
25Ma, J, Foldon, AR, Shahar, E, Eckfeldt, JH. Plasma fatty acid composition as an indicator of habitual dietary fat intake in middle-aged adults. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study Investigators. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1995; 62: 564–71.Google Scholar
26Andersen, LF, Solvoll, K, Drevon, CA. Very-long-chain n–3 fatty acids as biomarkers for intake of fish and n–3 fatty acid concentrates. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1996; 64(3): 305–11.Google Scholar
27Hjartaker, A, Lund, E, Bjerve, KS. Serum phospholipid fatty acid composition and habitual intake of marine foods registered by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 1997; 51(11): 736–42.Google Scholar
28Zock, PL, Mensink, RP, Harryvan, J, de Vries, JH, Katan, MB. Fatty acids in serum cholesteryl esters as quantitative biomarkers of dietary intake in humans. Am. J. Epidemiol. 1997; 145(12): 1114–22.Google Scholar
29Amiano, P, Dorronsoro, M, de Renobales, M, Ruiz de Gordoa, JC, Iriogien, I. Very long chain ω–3 fatty acids as markers for habitual fish intake in a population consuming mainly lean fish: the EPIC cohort of Gipuzkoa. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 2001; 55(10): 827–32.Google Scholar
30Riboli, E, Hunt, KJ, Slimani, N, Ferrari, P, Norat, T, Fahey, M, et al. European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): study populations and data collection. Public Health Nutr. 2002; 5(6B): 1113–24.Google Scholar
31Slimani, N, Kaaks, R, Ferrari, P, Casagrande, C, Clavel-Chapelon, F, Lotze, G, et al. European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) calibration study: rationale, design and population characteristics. Public Health Nutr. 2002; 5(6B): 1125–45.Google Scholar
32Slimani, N, Deharveng, G, Charrondière, RU, van Kappel, AL, Ocké, MC, Welch, A, et al. Structure of the standardized computerized 24-hour diet recall interview used as a reference method in the 22 centers participating in the EPIC project. Comput. Meth. Programs Biomed. 1999; 58: 251–66.Google Scholar
33Slimani, N, Ferrari, P, Ocké, MC, Welch, A, Boeing, H, van Liere, M, et al. Standardization of the 24-hour diet recall calibration method used in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): general concepts and preliminary results. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 2000; 54: 900–17.Google Scholar
34Ruiter, A. Fish and Fishery Products. Composition, Nutritive Properties and Stability. Wallingford, UK: CAB International, 1995.Google Scholar
35FAOSTAT – Statistical databases online statistics for fish, seafood supply, 1999. Available at http.//www.fa.org.Google Scholar
36Byrd-Bredbenner, C, Lagiou, P, Trichopolou, A. A comparison of household food availability in 11 countries. J. Hum. Nutr. Diet. 2000; 13: 197204.Google Scholar
37Schroll, K, Moreiras-Varela, O, Schlettwein-Gsell, D, Decarli, B, de Groot, L, van Staveren, W. Cross-cultural variations and changes in food-group intake among elderly women in Europe: results from the Survey in Europe on Nutrition and the Elderly: a Concerted Action (SENECA). Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1997; 65(Suppl.): 1282S–9S.Google Scholar
38Bingham, SA, Nelson, M. Assessment of food composition and nutrient intake. In: Margetts, BM, Nelson, M, eds. Design Concepts in Nutritional Epidemiology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991; 153–91.Google Scholar
39Rose, DP, Connolly, JM. Regulation of tumor angiogenesis by dietary fatty acids and eicosanoids. Nutr. Cancer. 2000; 37(2): 119–27.Google Scholar
40Rao, CV, Hirose, Y, Indranie, C, Reddy, BS. Modulation of experimental colon tumorigenesis by types and amounts of dietary fatty acids. Cancer Res. 2001; 61(5): 1927–33.Google Scholar