Hypercalcemia (i.e., high blood calcium level) has been linked to neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, confusion and psychosis. The mechanism by which hypercalcemia induces disruptions in the central nervous system (CNS) implicates the death of brain cells and changes within essential neurotransmitters (i.e., the brain’s chemical messengers).
Furthermore, other studies report a linear correlation (i.e., the two elements behave the same way, for example when one goes up, the other goes up too) between hypercalcemia and psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety, suggesting that as the blood level of calcium increases, symptoms of anxiety and depression worsen. It is noteworthy to add that restoration of normal levels of calcium has been shown to lead to a resolution of neuropsychiatric symptoms in the majority of cases.
References:
Nagy, Lauren & Mangini, Pratheek & Schroen, Caitlin & Aziz, Rehan & Tobia, Anthony. (2020). Prolonged Hypercalcemia-Induced Psychosis. Case Reports in Psychiatry. 2020. 1-4. 10.1155/2020/6954036.
Weizman A, Eldar M, Shoenfeld Y, Hirschorn M, Wijsenbeek H, Pinkhas J. Hypercalcaemia-induced psychopathology in malignant diseases. Br J Psychiatry. 1979;135:363-366. doi:10.1192/bjp.135.4.363
2 Responses
Please clarify what you mean by high levels. I assume this means a value exceeding 10.2 on a calcium test on a standard labcorp metabolic panel.
Hi there, according to both studies the normal range of blood calcium level is between 9.5 and 10.5 mg/dl. Although levels beyond this range are considered high, psychopathology was not observed until the levels reached 14.4 mg/dl.