LOW CHOLESTEROL'S EFFECTS QUESTIONED

Several studies suggest a link between low cholesterol and depression, suicide, or violent death (see related article, Crime Times, 1996, Vol. 2, No. 4, Page 1). But a large-scale research project casts doubt on the idea that reducing your cholesterol can be bad for your mental health.

J. H. Markovitz et al. studied the cholesterol levels of 4,240 subjects between the ages of 23 and 35, and report that "low total cholesterol levels were not related to any of the psychological measures in any race/sex group." They add that "among a subset of 371 subjects with initially elevated total cholesterol and a non-medicated decrease of .52 mmol/L or more during five years, hostility decreased." The researchers conclude, "The results do not support a consistent relation beteen hostility, negative affect, or high-risk behaviors with low lipid levels or lipid-lowering among young adults."

"Lack of relations of hostility, negative affect, and high-risk behavior with low plasma lipid levels in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study," J. H. Markovitz, D. Smith, J. M. Raczynski, A. Oberman, O. D. Williams, S. Knox, and D. R. Jacobs,Jr., Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 157, No. 17, Sept. 22, 1997, pp. 1953-1959. Address not listed.