Low cholesterol associated with depression in elderly men

This study was published in the Lancet 1993 Jan 9;341(8837):75-9

Study title and authors:
Plasma cholesterol and depressive symptoms in older men.
Morgan RE, Palinkas LA, Barrett-Connor EL, Wingard DL.
Department of Community and Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0628.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8093404

The study investigated the relationship between depressive illness and low cholesterol levels in 1,020 elderly men.

The study found that among men aged 70 years and older, depression was three times more common in the group with low cholesterol levels (less than 4.14 mmol/L or 160 mg/dL) than in those with higher concentrations.
 
Morgan concluded: "Our finding that low plasma cholesterol is associated with depressive symptoms in elderly men is compatible with observations that a very low total cholesterol may be related to suicide and violent death".