Serum cholesterol and psychological distress in hospitalized depressed patients

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between total serum cholesterol and various psychosocial variables in depressed in-patients. METHOD: One hundred and eighty-six patients had their total fasting serum cholesterol assessed following admission; psychiatric diagnoses were obtained with the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID) interview. Psychopathology was measured with a clinician rated scale [Montgomery and Asberg Depressive Rating Scale (MADRS)] and a self-rating scale [Symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90)]. RESULTS: Univariate analyses showed lower total serum cholesterol levels being correlated with higher scores in several psychopathological areas. Multivariate analyses indicated that male gender, lower age and higher MADRS scores were the most predictive variables for lower cholesterol levels. CONCLUSION: The data suggest, in this depressed population, an association between serum cholesterol and depressive symptoms. What is the cause and what is its effect is not possible to say from this cross-sectional study.