title: The effects of dietary cholesterol-lowering on psychological symptoms: a randomised controlled study.
abstract: The relationship of plasma cholesterol-reducing interventions to emotional states, such as depression and hostility, remains a topic of debate. The present study employed a randomised, controlled design, and was conducted at a clinical research center to test the effect of dietary cholesterol-lowering on psychological symptoms. Ten women and eight men were randomly assigned to one of two counterbalanced diet cycles (low-fat versus high-fat diet; isocaloric; 6 weeks each; separated by a washout period). Analyses for repeated measures revealed that the low-fat diet significantly reduced total, LDL and HDL cholesterol, when compared with baseline and the high-fat diet. As expected, weight remained unchanged. Ratings of depression, hostility and global severity of psychological symptoms as measured by the SCL-90-R also improved significantly on the low-fat, high-complex carbohydrate diet when compared with baseline. These results suggest that plasma cholesterol-lowering in the context of a low-fat, high-complex carbohydrate diet may have a beneficial effect on psychological symptoms.
authors.affiliation: San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA. gweidner@sfsu.edu
authors.forename: Gerdi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weidner
authors.forename: Sonja L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Connor
authors.forename: Glenn T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Gerhard
authors.forename: P Barton
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Duell
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Connor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects*; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents