Autonomic nervous system and lipid metabolism: Findings in anxious-depressive spectrum and eating disorders

Objective. To correlate lipid metabolism and autonomic dysfunction with anxious-depressive spectrum and eating disorders. To propose the lipid index (LI) as a new possible biomarker. Methods. 95 patients and 60 controls were enrolled from the University Psychiatry Unit of Catania and from general practitioners (GPs). The patients were divided into four pathological groups: Anxiety, Depression, Anxious-Depressive Disorder and Eating Disorders [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) official/appendix criteria]. The levels of the cholesterol, triglycerides and apolipoproteins A and B were determined. The LI, for each subject, was obtained through a mathematical operation on the values of the cholesterol and triglycerides levels compared with the maximum cut-off of the general population. The autonomic functioning was tested with Ewing battery tests. Particularly, the correlation between heart rate variability (HRV) and lipid metabolism has been investigated. Results: Pathological and control groups, compared among each other, presented some peculiarities in the lipid metabolism and the autonomic dysfunction scores. In addition, a statistically significant correlation has been found between HRV and lipid metabolism. Conclusions: Lipid metabolism and autonomic functioning seem to be related to the discussed psychiatric disorders. LI, in addition, could represent a new possible biomarker to be considered. © 2011Pistorio et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.