Depression, heart disease, mortality and cholesterol: A new look at controversial data

Abstract

Back ground:The importance of cholesterol for health, physical and psychological well-being has been recognized for a long time. Changes in serum cholesterol levels may have a direct impact on mental perfomance, mood, behavior, survival and expected lifetime duration.Objective:To examine the association between depression and cholesterol levels and to discuss the possible imlications in clinical practice.Method:A MEDLINE search was conducted to identify relevant studies and reviews. The results of our own research will be also presented.Results:Clinical investigations of cholesterolemia in patients with depressive disorders have produced very conflicting results. Recently, low serum cholesterol was proposed as a biological marker for depression, suicide and affective disorders. Depression has increasingly been recognized as an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). On the other side, CHD is related to high serum cholesterol levels. It seems that both low and high serum cholesterol may be associated with a higher risk of the premature deaths as well as with depression.Conclusion:Our current knowledge on the relation between cholesterolemia and depressive disorders is poor and controversial. The lipoprotein profile, rather than total cholesterol levels, seems to be more important.

Gender differences in clinical and biochemical parameters among patients hospitalized for schizophrenia: towards precision medicine

“…In contrast, in our sample women resulted to have higher total cholesterol plasma levels compared to men (confirmed by intermediate regression model), as reported in literature for younger women (aged 18–23 years); in contrast, for the age group ranging from 24–25 to 48–49 years old, higher cholesterol plasma levels were detected in men than in women [ 53 ]. Available literature displays a complex picture about the role of cholesterol on the course of different psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia [ 54 ]. Low levels of plasma cholesterol seem to be associated with suicide attempts [ 55 ] as a result of a change in neuronal membrane plasticity [ 56 ] and of the increase in the brain levels of oxysterols that are molecules favoring self-harm [ 57 ].…”

Unveiling the Link: Exploring Mitochondrial Dysfunction as a Probable Mechanism of Hepatic Damage in Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome

“…It is well known that patients with psychiatric disorders have a significantly increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. One mechanism linking anxiety and cardiovascular mortality is atherogenic dyslipidemia [ 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 ]. At the same time, positive correlations were found between the concentration of IL-1 in the liver with both plasma cholesterol and triglycerides ( Figure 14 ).…”

Influence of Simvastatin as Augmentative Therapy in the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Pilot Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study

“…Additionally, experimental research indicates that cholesterol deficiency in neuronal membranes may have an adverse impact on dendritic outgrowth, synapse formation, and neuronal survival [38][39][40]. Low cholesterol levels have been associated with psychiatric disorders such as depression, antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and dissociative disorder [41]. The results of a large study in Taiwan found that those with low total cholesterol (< 160 mg/dL) had higher scores of anxiety, phobia, psychoticism, and aggressive hostility [42].…”

“…Interestingly, clinical recovery in depression may be accompanied by a significant increase of total cholesterol [43]. On the other hand, high cholesterol levels have also been associated with some psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and anxiety disorders [41], and patients with these psychiatric disorders often exhibit elevated total serum cholesterol and LDL levels and decreased HDL levels compared to controls [35, 44]. Further, some studies indicate that serum cholesterol level may predict treatment response to pharmacological treatment, and some other studies have reported patients with treatment-resistant depression presenting with higher cholesterol levels (≥200 mg/dL) at baseline compared to depressed patients without treatment-resistant depression [45].…”