Dietary fish intake and the risk of multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Objectives: There is some inconclusive evidence for the role of fish consumption in susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS). The present study aimed to systematically review and determine the association between dietary fish intake and risk of MS. Methods: A systematic search with related keywords was carried out in PubMed-MEDLIN, Scopus-EMBASE, and OVID-MEDLINE from inception up to September 2019 to find observational studies that evaluated the association between dietary fish intake and the risk of MS. Random effect and subgroup analyses were performed to calculate pooled estimates at 95% CIs. Results: Six articles met the inclusion criteria for systematic review and meta-analysis. The results of this study indicated that the consumption of fish decreases the risk of MS [OR (95% CIs): 0.77 (0.64, 0.92);p-value = 0.004;I-2 = 54.7%] compared with controls. Discussion: Dietary intake of at least 0.5 servings of fish per week during adolescence and after might reduce the risk of MS; however, further studies are required to prove this preventive effect.