title: Apolipoprotein A-I/apolipoprotein B ratio and aggression in violent and nonviolent young adult males.
abstract: Epidemiological, clinical, and experimental studies have linked low or lowered cholesterol levels to aggressive behavior. However, no study has measured the relationship between aggression and apolipoprotein A-I/apolipoprotein B ratio, a robust indicator of cardiac risk. Plasma levels of total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, triglycerides, apolipoprotein A-I, and apolipoprotein B were measured and correlated with Aggression Questionnaire ratings in 20 young adult males with personality disorders and/or a high propensity toward aggressive behavior and in 40 control subjects. Compared with the control subjects, the subjects in the aggressive group had lower levels of apo A-I and a lower apo A-I/apo B ratio. Whereas in the control subjects, higher levels of aggression were correlated with lower levels of atherogenic lipoproteins (LDL-C and apo B), in the aggressive subjects higher levels of aggression were correlated with lower levels of anti-atherogenic lipoproteins (HDL-C and apo A-I) and higher levels of LDL-C. The results of this study confirm the existence of a relationship between blood lipids and aggressive behavior in young adult males and suggest that the apo A-I/apo B ratio might be an additional marker in the search for biological correlates of increased risk of violence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, University of Rome Tor Vergata, via Guattani 14, 00161 Rome, Italy. alfonso.troisi@uniroma2.it
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Troisi
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Argenio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology*; D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I / Q000097:blood*; D001055:Apolipoproteins B / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014754:Violence
chemical_list: D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I; D001055:Apolipoproteins B; D008074:Lipoproteins; D014280:Triglycerides