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Cholesterol meets Darwin: Public health and evolutionary implications of the cholesterol‐serotonin hypothesis
Author(s) -
Kaplan Jay R.,
Klein Karen Potvin,
Manuck Stephen B.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
evolutionary anthropology: issues, news, and reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1520-6505
pISSN - 1060-1538
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6505(1997)6:1<28::aid-evan8>3.0.co;2-s
Subject(s) - cholesterol , coronary heart disease , public health , medicine , serum cholesterol , disease , psychiatry , endocrinology , demography , sociology , nursing
A restricted intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, health advocacy groups suggest, is an effective and safe way to lower plasma cholesterol concentrations and thus reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and other atherosclerotic disorders. Indeed, recent treatment trials indicate that the newest cholesterol‐lowering agents, collectively called “statins,” provide substantial protection against coronary heart disease. However, epidemiologic data also show a troubling and unanticipated association between low serum cholesterol, whether naturally occurring or due to treatment, and increased mortality from suicide, accidents, and other causes that are unrelated to illness. Other studies indicate that low or reduced serum cholesterol adversely affects behavior and mood, possibly mediating the epidemiologic association between low cholesterol and violent death. These results are controversial because they are at variance with current public health policy in favor of cholesterol lowering, and because the findings have not always been replicated. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.