Clinically relevant cholesterol elevation in anxiety disorders: A comparison with normal controls

Recently, several studies reported elevated cholesterol levels in panic dis order, agoraphobia, and general anxiety disorder, but the clinical relevanc e is still unsettled. All studies so far have disregarded the possible infl uence of dietary and physical exercise factors. in this study, 30 patients with different anxiety disorders and 30 normal controls were compared for t otal cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and cholesterol/high-densi ty lipoprotein (HDL) ratio. Dietary and physical exercise habits were measu red by self-rating questionnaires. Patients with anxiety disorders had sign ificantly elevated total cholesterol, LDL, and cholesterol/HDL ratios. Pati ents showed borderline-high or high cholesterol levels almost 3 times as of ten as control participants. Anxiety-specific avoidance of physical exercis e and special dietary habits of anxiety patients had a significant but mino r impact on differences in cholesterol between both groups. Our data suppor t the assumption that serum cholesterol elevations in anxiety disorder pati ents are within a clinically relevant range.