it appears that too little can also be harmful.
Two new studies
Two new studies, reported in the British Medical Journal (September 14, 1996) have added data to the body of information that indicates low levels of cholesterol in the blood are associated with depression and suicide.
For the past seventeen years, researchers at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris have collected blood samples of more than 6,000 middle aged men. Each year the cholesterol levels in the blood were measured. Of the group, 32 committed suicide; each had cholesterol levels which were low.
In the University of Vienna Hospital's Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology a study of 20 women with no other predisposing factors connected low cholesterol levels with postpartum depression.
Other studies
In recent years there have been other studies suggesting a link between cholesterol and behavior disturbances.
A study of adults suffering from various psychiatric disorders linked low cholesterol and suicide in the male patients, but not in females.
Julia Golier and colleagues at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine reported their findings in the March 1995 issue of American Journal of Psychiatry.
The 307 men they studied were diagnosed with depression, schizophrenia or substance abuse. Almost one third of the men with low cholesterol attempted suicide, twice the number of men with normal levels who had done so.
In the women studied, their cholesterol level was not associated with a risk of suicide.
Cholesterol and Aggression...
Dr. Marc Hillbrand, of the Whiting Forensic Institute in Middletown, CT found that men with low cholesterol were likely to be more violent than men with normal levels.
In a group of 50 men who had committed violent crimes the 21 with low cholesterol readings had exhibited greater violence than the 29 who had normal readings.
... and Depression ...
Men age 70 and older who have low cholesterol levels are three times more likely to experience depression, than their peers with higher cholesterol levels. Ross E. Morgan and colleagues reported their findings in the January 9, 1993 issue of The Lancet. The study covered more than 1,000 men ages 50 to 89.
This study suggests that low cholesterol results in a reduction of serotonin, a chemical neurotransmitter in the brain which plays many roles. One of the things serotonin does is to impart a feeling of well-being.
... and Heart Disease
Even if men who reduce their cholesterol level are at greater risk for depression and violent behavior, their reduced cholesterol should at least make them less likely to suffer from a heart attack, right? Not necessarily, reports Science News (September 2, 1995). Research in Finland suggests that it isn't just a reduction in certain types of fat that helps make hearts more healthy, but it is important that people get enough of the right kind of fats. The Finnish study participants reduced their saturated fat intake by increasing the amount of seafood they ate, and this seafood enables the body to produce DHA (docosahexenoic acid, a beneficial polyunsaturated fat). When saturated fats are replaced with oils from plants, these oils do not enable the body to create DHA.
The role of DHA was described in the July, 1995 issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Another Conclusion
The October 3 New England Journal of Medicine reported that researchers at the Harvard Medical School have successfully used cholesterol-lowering drugs to reduce the likelihood of heart attacks in more than 4,000 individuals who had previously suffered a heart attack. There was also a reduction in the number of strokes suffered.
But also from Boston, the Harvard Medical School's Health Letter reported that the admonition to the general population to reduce their cholesterol count may not be necessary.
"For many years people have been told that cholesterol is the enemy and that avoiding it at all costs is the best defense against heart disease. Indeed, many think that enjoying a plate of scrambled eggs is a sinful act." (Harvard Health Letter, August 1995).
The publication cites studies where healthy individuals ate 2 - 3 eggs per day with only a modest rise in cholesterol levels. This, as well as other studies, suggests that while some people are at risk of developing serious health problems from excess cholesterol levels, others are not.
Cholesterol or Fat: Which is to Blame?
Dr. Henry Ginsberg believes it isn't cholesterol, but saturated fat, that is responsible for many heart ailments. Ginsberg is a professor of medicine at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Most of the cholesterol in our body is produced by the liver, not derived from our food. While the liver produces about 1,000 mg of it each day, the average man in the United States takes in 327 mg of it from food. The average intake for a woman is 221 mg. and about half of what we ingest is excreted.
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