Researchers with the Hordaland Health Study reviewed the relationship between consumption of different amounts of fish (and fish products) and cognitive performance.
In this study, 2031 subjects in Norway aged 70 to 74 underwent a battery of six cognitive tests and completed food-frequency questionnaires that identified both the quantity and the type of fish consumed in their diet. Researchers then studied the associations between cognitive performance and the main types of consumed seafood, i.e., fatty fish, lean fish, processed fish, fish sandwich, and fish or cod liver oil.
They found that fish eaters had significantly better results on all cognitive tests than did the non-consumers, even after adjustment for several non-nutritional factors with a proven association with cognition (e.g., education levels).
The protective effect of eating fish and fish products extended to almost all of the tested cognitive abilities. In addition, the associations between fish and fish product intake and cognition were dose-dependent: those who ate greater amounts of fish showed better test results.
The researchers also observed that the results depend on the type of fish consumed: the effect was more pronounced for non-processed lean fish and fatty fish.
Read other studies that link fish consumption to improved eye health
Learn more about natural fish oil products
SOURCE: “Cognitive performance among the elderly and dietary fish intake: the Hordaland Health Study”, Nurk, et. al., Am J Clin Nutr; 86:1470-1478 (November 2007).