Low Cholesterol - Linked to Depression and Suicide

People with very low cholesterol levels are at increased risk of developing stomach cancer, as per a Japanese report in the International Journal of Cancer. Earlier in 1999 low cholesterol was linked, in both men and women, to depression, anxiety and suicide. Another earlier report has shown that people with cholesterol below 180 had twice the risk of brain hemorrhage over people with cholesterol levels at 230.

And now the Japanese study links it with gastric cancer. The researcher looked into this in a study involving some 2,600 residents of Hisayama, Japan, who were followed for 14 years. Gastric cancers developed in 97 subjects. After accounting for age and gender, stomach cancer rates rose significantly with descending cholesterol level. For example, among subjects with the highest cholesterol levels, the gastric cancer rate was the equivalent of 2.1 cases per 1000 persons per year; among those with the lowest cholesterol, the rate was 3.9 per 1000 person-years.

Patients with low serum cholesterol should consider regular gastro-intestinal examination for the prevention of gastric cancer said Dr K.K Aggarwal President Heart Care Foundation of India.