A large international study has suggested that there is a relationship between a high fish intake and a reduced risk of developing dementia.

The wide-ranging project involved close to 15,000 people aged 65 and older in China, India, Cuba, the Dominican Repbublic, Venezuela, Mexico and Peru.

The subjects underwent face-to-face interviews about their fish and meat consumption and they were assessed using a cross-culturally validated dementia diagnosis tool.

Although the researchers were able to determine how regularly participants ate meat and fish, they could not pinpoint the type of fish and meat consumed, portion sizes and the method of cooking.

The study found an inverse association between fish consumption and dementia that was consistent across all of the countries except India.

The study also looked at meat consumption, finding a slight positive relationship between higher meat consumption and dementia.

It is unlikely that demented individuals have poorer dietary habits because meat consumption was higher among those with a dementia diagnosis.

The researchers stressed that their results should be considered carefully.

“Our findings should be interpreted with caution given the cross-sectional study design and the limitations in our dietary assessments,” the paper said.

“Moreover, although our study's internal validity and intercountry comparisons are strong, we recognize that our findings should only be generalized to populations with similar dietary and health characteristics.”