Relationship of serum cholesterols and vitamin E to depressive status in the elderly.

Various relationships of serum cholesterols and alpha-tocopherol in the blood to depressive status as assessed by a short version of the Geriatric Depression Score (GDS) were cross-sectionally and longitudinally investigated in the elderly using multivariate analysis. Subjects comprised 504 residents (195 men and 309 women) aged 65 years and over in a rural community. Neither cholesterols nor alpha-tocopherol significantly related to depressive status in either sex, adjusted for age and educational attainment in cross-sectional analysis. However, both total cholesterol and alpha-tocopherol at baseline significantly prevented a 4-year longitudinal progression of depressive status in men alone, adjusted for age, education, and the GDS score at baseline. LDL + VLDL cholesterol related in the same fashion as total cholesterol, whereas HDL cholesterol did not significantly relate to the progression of depressive status.