Friday Nov 28 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study published in the Nov 2008 issue of American Journal of Kidney Diseases suggests that eating fish may reduce risk of Albuminuria in people with diabetes.

The study showed that diabetics who ate fish were less likely to have Albuminuria, a pathological condition where albumin is present in the urine. Albuminuria is a type of proteinuria, according to Wikipedia.

Studies have already shown that the consumption of fish and fish oil benefits the management of diabetes and its complications.

The current study was meant to examine the correlation between fish consumption and albuminuria in people with and without diabetes.

For the study, Lee C.T. and colleagues from Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, United Kingdom conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer-Norfolk population-based cohort study.

The study involved 22,384 men and women of whom 517 had diabetes by self-report and 21,867 did not report diabetes.   The participants were surveyed using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and categorized as less than 1, 1 to 2 and more than 2 portions per week.

For the study, microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria were defined as urinary albumin-creatinine ratio of 2.5 or greater to 24.9 and 25 mg/mmol or greater, respectively.

The researchers found that eating fish was associated with a lower risk of macroalbuminuria in participants with diabetes. Compared with those who ate less than 1 portion per week, those who ate more than 2 were at a 78 percent reduced risk of the condition.

They concluded "Greater fish intake was associated with a lower risk of macroalbuminuria in a self-defined diabetic population. These findings merit confirmation in prospective studies and intervention trials and suggest that fish intake may be beneficial for albuminuria in people with diabetes."

Am J Kidney Dis. 2008 Nov;52(5):876-86.

Cross-sectional association between fish consumption and albuminuria: the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer-Norfolk Study.

Lee CT, Adler AI, Forouhi NG, Luben R, Welch A, Khaw KT, Bingham S, Wareham NJ.

Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom.