Vol. 7, No. 3, 2001 Page 7

Low cholesterol again linked to psychological problems

A Taiwanese study is the most recent to link low cholesterol levels to psychological problems. C. C. Chen and colleagues measured the serum lipid levels of 4,444 consecutive patients seen at general health clinics, and report that:

• Women with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels lower than 35 exhibited elevated levels of aggressive hostility, depression, phobia, anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, and somatic complaints.

• Subjects with total cholesterol concentrations lower than 160 mg/dl scored higher on aggressive hostility, anxiety, phobia, and psychoticism.

Chen et al's findings are consistent with earlier reports linking low cholesterol levels to violent behavior or psychological disorders (see related articles, Crime Times, 2001, Vol. 7, No. 2, Page 7 and Crime Times, 1996, Vol. 2, No. 4, Page 1).

"Correlation between serum lipid concentrations and psychological distress," C. C. Chen, F. Lu, J. Wu, and C. Chang, Psychiatry Research, Vol.102, No. 2, June 21, 2001, pp. 153-162. Address: C. C. Chen, Dept. of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 138 Sheng-Li Rd., 70428 Tainan, Taiwan.

Related Article: [2004, Vol. 10]

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