Association between fish intake and depressive symptoms among community-living older Chinese adults in Singapore: A cross-sectional study

Objective Our aim of this study was to investigate the association between fish consumption and depressive symptoms in senior ethnic Chinese residents of Singapore. Design A population-based crosssectional study. Setting The Singapore Longitudinal Aging Studies (SLAS). Participant The study consisted of 2,034 participants from the Singapore Longitudinal Aging Studies (SLAS) project who were at least 55 years old. Measurements The presence of depressive symptoms was compared between those who self-reported eating fish at least three times a week versus those who ate fish less often. A score of 5 or greater on the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) was the cutoff for being designated as having depressive symptoms. Results Fish intake was associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms ([odds ratio] OR = 0.60, 95% [confidence interval] CI 0.40–0.90; P =.015) after controlling for age, sex, marital status, housing, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical exercise, social and productive activities, self-rated health, hypertension, diabetes, heart failure or attack, stroke, fruit and vegetable intake, and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. Conclusion Our results suggest that eating fish at least three times a week is associated with a lower odds of having depressive symptoms among Chinese adults over 55 years old living in Singapore.