Low cholesterol concentrations and severe depressive symptoms in elderly people.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the reported association between low serum cholesterol concentration and severe depressive symptoms in an elderly population.


METHODS
Cross sectional analysis of pooled data from three communities of the established populations for epidemiologic studies of the elderly. Participants who completed their interview, including the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies' depression scale and consented to measurement of their cholesterol concentration were included in the study.


METHODS
3939 men and women aged > or = 71.


METHODS
chi 2 analysis, t tests, and multivariate regression analysis of the association between low cholesterol concentration and severe depressive symptoms. All analyses were stratified by sex, and multivariate analyses were adjusted for age, self reported health, physical function, number of drugs used, and weight loss.


METHODS
Score of depressive symptoms on the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies' depression scale.


RESULTS
Depressive symptoms, cholesterol concentration, weight, and use of drugs were all associated with age in men and women. The relative odds of severe depressive symptoms (score > or = 16) for those with low cholesterol concentrations (< 4.14 mmol/l) were 1.9 (95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 3.3) for the older group of men and 1.8 (1.1 to 2.9) for the older group of women. This association was also observed when depressive symptoms were analysed as a continuous rather than a categorical variable. In multivariate models that adjusted for age, self reported health, physical function, number of drugs used, and weight loss, the association was substantially weakened.


CONCLUSIONS
After several factors relating to health had been controlled for, no significant association between low cholesterol concentration and severe depressive symptoms was found.
Epidemiology, Demography, and Biometry Program, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD 20892.
S L
SL
Brown
M E
ME
Salive
T B
TB
Harris
E M
EM
Simonsick
J M
JM
Guralnik
F J
FJ
Kohout
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012737:Sex Factors
D002784:Cholesterol