Fish consumption linked to lower cognition

GRANADA, Spain, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Children who eat fish more than three times per week show decreased performance in cognition, researchers in Spain found.

Researcher Carmen Freire Warden, led by Professors Nicolas Olea and Marieta Fernandez Serrano Cabrera of the University of Granada, analyzed the exposure to environmental contaminants through water, air and diet in a sample of 220 children in the geographic healthcare area of San Cecilio University Hospital in Granada, Spain.

Concentrations were higher than those found in other pediatric populations with a lower consumption of fish, but lower than levels found in high-consuming areas.

Important exposure factors were: place of residence, maternal age, passive exposure to tobacco smoke and consumption of oily fish.

The findings suggest fish consumption is the main source of exposure to mercury in the sample population studied.

The research also revealed there is a direct relationship between children's passive exposure to tobacco smoke and the use of gas stoves inside houses.

The findings were published in Environmental Research, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Science of the Total Environment and Gaceta Sanitaria.