title: Hypocholesterolemia and affective disorders.
abstract: The authors' specific aim was to assess hypocholesterolemia in 203 patients hospitalized because of affective disorders (depression, bipolar disorder, and schizoaffective disorder) compared with 1,595 self-referred subjects in an urban supermarket screening and with 11,864 subjects in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey II, a national probability sample. Low plasma cholesterol concentrations (< 160 mg/dL) were much more common in patients with affective disorders (20%) than in urban supermarket screenees (4%, P < or = 0.001) or in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey II subjects (10%, P < or = 0.001). When paired with supermarket screenees by age and sex, patients with affective disorders had much lower plasma total cholesterol (P < or = 0.0002), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < or = 0.001), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < or = 0.0001), and higher triglyceride concentrations (P < or = 0.03). Neither the severity of the affective disorders nor severity-age interactions were associated with plasma cholesterol concentrations (P > 0.1); age and plasma cholesterol were positively associated (P = 0.01). None of the psychoactive drugs had a significant independent association with the patients' low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Plasma cholesterol in patients hospitalized with affective disorders is shifted markedly downward toward hypocholesterolemic concentrations (< 160 mg/dL). There is no evidence that low plasma cholesterol could cause or worsen affective disorders.
authors.affiliation: Cholesterol Center, Jewish Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Glueck
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tieger
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kunkel
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hamer
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tracy
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Speirs
mesh_terms: D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000097:blood; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000097:blood; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol