TY - JOUR

T1 - Exploring the effects of oily fish consumption on measures of acute and long-term stress in healthy 8-9-year-old children: the FiSK Junior randomised trial

AU - Teisen, Marie Nygaard

AU - Vuholm, Stine

AU - Rantanen, Jesper M

AU - Christensen, Jeppe H

AU - Damsgaard, Camilla Trab

AU - Lauritzen, Lotte

N1 - CURIS 2021 NEXS 053

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Long-chain n-3 PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA) are known to reduce blood pressure (BP), heart rate and vagal tone, but potential stress-mitigating effects of n-3 LCPUFA are not well investigated. We explored the effects of oily fish consumption on long-term stress and the stress response in schoolchildren. Healthy 8-9-year-old children were randomised to receive about 300 g/week of oily fish or poultry for 12 weeks (199 randomised, 197 completing). At baseline and endpoint, we measured erythrocyte n-3 LCPUFA, hair cortisol and the response to a 1-min cold pressor test (CPT) on saliva cortisol, BP and continuous electrocardiogram recordings. Post-intervention hair cortisol did not differ between the groups, but sex-specificity was indicated (Psex × group = 0·074, boys: -0·9 (95 % CI -2·9, 1·0) ng/g, girls: 0·7 (95 % CI -0·2, 1·6) ng/g). Children in the fish group tended to be less prone to terminate CPT prematurely (OR 0·20 (95 % CI 0·02, 1·04)). Mean heart beat interval during CPT was 18·2 (95 % CI 0·3, 36·6) ms longer and high frequency power increased (159 (95 % CI 29, 289) ms2) in the fish v. poultry group. The cardiac autonomic response in the 10 min following CPT was characterised by a sympathetic peak followed by a parasympathetic peak, which was most pronounced in the fish group. This exploratory study does not support a strong effect of oily fish consumption on stress but indicates that oily fish consumption may increase vagal cardiac tone during the physiological response to CPT. These results warrant further investigation.

AB - Long-chain n-3 PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA) are known to reduce blood pressure (BP), heart rate and vagal tone, but potential stress-mitigating effects of n-3 LCPUFA are not well investigated. We explored the effects of oily fish consumption on long-term stress and the stress response in schoolchildren. Healthy 8-9-year-old children were randomised to receive about 300 g/week of oily fish or poultry for 12 weeks (199 randomised, 197 completing). At baseline and endpoint, we measured erythrocyte n-3 LCPUFA, hair cortisol and the response to a 1-min cold pressor test (CPT) on saliva cortisol, BP and continuous electrocardiogram recordings. Post-intervention hair cortisol did not differ between the groups, but sex-specificity was indicated (Psex × group = 0·074, boys: -0·9 (95 % CI -2·9, 1·0) ng/g, girls: 0·7 (95 % CI -0·2, 1·6) ng/g). Children in the fish group tended to be less prone to terminate CPT prematurely (OR 0·20 (95 % CI 0·02, 1·04)). Mean heart beat interval during CPT was 18·2 (95 % CI 0·3, 36·6) ms longer and high frequency power increased (159 (95 % CI 29, 289) ms2) in the fish v. poultry group. The cardiac autonomic response in the 10 min following CPT was characterised by a sympathetic peak followed by a parasympathetic peak, which was most pronounced in the fish group. This exploratory study does not support a strong effect of oily fish consumption on stress but indicates that oily fish consumption may increase vagal cardiac tone during the physiological response to CPT. These results warrant further investigation.

KW - Faculty of Science

KW - Long-chain n-3 fatty acids

KW - Fish oil

KW - Stress response

KW - Cardiac autonomic function

KW - Sex differences

U2 - 10.1017/S000711452000519X

DO - 10.1017/S000711452000519X

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33536096

VL - 126

SP - 1194

EP - 1202

JO - British Journal of Nutrition

JF - British Journal of Nutrition

SN - 0007-1145

IS - 8

ER -