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Fish intake guidelines: incorporating n–3 fatty acid intake and contaminant exposure in the Korean and Japanese communities ^1,2,3,4

¹ From the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Services (AT, TMB, and EMF) and the Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication (AT and EMF), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, and the Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, WA (JH and KM)

Background: Fish consumption advisories are developed to prevent overexposure to various contaminants. Recently, discussion has centered on the need to consider the benefits of fish consumption alongside possible risks when providing guidance.

Objective: As part of the Arsenic Mercury Intake Biometric Study involving the Japanese and Korean communities living in Washington State, we obtained fish and nutrient intake data. Japanese and Korean women of childbearing age (n = 214) participated in this longitudinal study. We used these data, along with hair-mercury data to determine the need for both the nutritional benefits and concern about contaminants to be included when providing guidance.

Design: We examined the intake of 2 n–3 long-chain fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found in fish and associated with a variety of beneficial health effects. Intakes of these lipids were used as surrogates to characterize the beneficial effect from fish consumption, and the intake of mercury was used to establish the risk from consumption.

Results: These 2 populations provided an ideal basis from which to examine this issue because their fish consumption rates were identical and higher than national rates, but their mercury intakes vary substantially because of different consumption behaviors. Results indicate that basing fish consumption guidelines on contaminant concentrations alone can have the unintended consequence of causing a portion of the population to have inadequate intake of required nutrients.

Conclusion: Public health goals may be better served if nutritional elements and contaminant concerns are quantitatively incorporated into fish consumption guidelines.