Does eating fish and fresh vegetable protect against the risk of dying from Cryptogenic Fibrosing Alveolitis (CFA)?

Introduction: Theoretically diets which are rich in n-3 fatty acids and antioxidants should protect against the risk of developing CFA. To date however, there has been little investigation of the relation between diet and CFA; the only available data suggesting a non-significant but protective effect associated with intake of fish (a major source of n-3 fatty acids) and vegetables (a source of antioxidant vitamins). We have therefore undertaken an ecological study to determine whether there is an association between regional mortality from CFA and regional consumption of fish and fresh vegetables Methods: Data on regional mortality from CFA were obtained from the Office for Population Censuses and Surveys (now the Office for National Statistics). Data on regional diet were obtained from the National Food Survey. The regions of the UK were ranked according to mortality rate from CFA and also for dietary consumption of fish, vegetables, fruit, meat, bread, milk and alcohol and evidence of a correlation between diet and mortality rate sought using Spearman's Rank Correlation. Results: Diet Coefficient P value Fish -0.80 0.01 Fresh vegetables -0.75 0.02 Green vegetables -0.65 0.06 Fruit -0.32 0.41 Meat -0.12 0.8 Bread 0.64 0.07 Milk 0.38 0.31 Alcohol 0.3 0.4 Conclusions: The results suggest a protective effect of eating fish and fresh vegetable on dying from CFA at the population level and indicate that further studies of the effect of diet at the individual level are required.