Recent researches had observed a correlation between fish consumption and development of diabetes in Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) antibody-positive adults. These adults are more than twice likely to have the chance of developing diabetes. The study conducted at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute and published in Diabetes Care revealed interesting findings that high consumption of fish in GAD65 positive adults may reduce the risk of developing diabetes. These findings enhance our understanding about the factors which influences the progression from islet autoimmunity to clinical diabetes.

      In a prospective study, the researchers analyzed data from 11,247 incident cases of adult-onset diabetes and 14,288 controls from the EPIC-InterAct case-cohort study conducted in eight European countries. Baseline plasma samples for GAD65 antibodies and phospholipid omega-3 PUFAs were assessed, and collected dietary data at baseline with validated questionnaires, and used data on lean fish, fatty fish and total fish consumption. Adjusted HRs were calculated for incident diabetes in relation to GAD65 antibody status and tertiles of plasma phospholipid omega-3 PUFA or fish consumption, estimated using Prentice-weighted Cox regression analysis.

      The investigators observed that compared with adults who were GAD65 antibody-negative with high fish intake, adults who were GAD65 antibody-positive and had a low intake of total and fatty fish were more than twice as likely to develop diabetes, with HRs of 2.52 (95% CI, 1.76-3.63) and 2.48 (95% CI, 1.79-3.45), respectively, with evidence of both additive and multiplicative interactions. Thus fish consumption or elevated omega-3 PUFA levels delays the progression from islet autoimmunity to onset of diabetes, especially among those with more pronounced autoimmunity as indicated by high levels of GAD65 antibodies and such insights will aid screening programs for diabetes-related antibodies.

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