05.22.09
Indication: Intelligence (teenage boys)
Source: Acta Paediatrica, March 2009;98(3):555-560.
Research: Fish intake is reported to positively influence cognitive performance in infants and the elderly. In a longitudinal cohort study, researchers evaluated how fish consumption related to later cognitive performance in healthy young male adolescents. In 2000, all 15-year-olds (n=18,158; 9260 males) in the western region of Sweden were requested to complete an extensive questionnaire with items on diseases, fish consumption and socioeconomic status. Questionnaire data from the male responders (n=4792, response rate 52%) were linked with records on subsequent intelligence test performance at age 18 from the Swedish Military Conscription Register (n=3972).
Results: There was a positive association between the frequency of fish meals per week at age 15 and cognitive performance measured 3 years later. Fish consumption of more than once per week compared to less than once per week was associated with higher stanine scores in combined intelligence, in verbal performance, and in visuospatial performance. The association between fish consumption and the three intelligence scores was the same in lowly and highly educated groups, which indicates that education did not influence the association between the frequency of fish meals consumed and cognitive performance. In this study, researchers believe that frequent fish intake at age 15 was associated with significantly higher cognitive performance 3 years later.