Nearly lethal resuscitated suicide attempters have no low serum levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.
To verify the hypothesis that suicide attempts are associated with lower serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels of patients with mood disorders, 26 patients with mood disorders (bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder) were admitted after a medically serious suicide attempt to the emergency department and then hospitalized in the psychiatric unit of the Sant' Andrea Hospital (Rome, Italy). Controls were 87 patients who had not made a recent suicide attempt. Attempters and nonattempters did not differ in the levels of serum cholesterol or triglycerides. Indeed, attempters had nonsignificantly higher serum levels of cholesterol and lower serum levels of triglycerides. The use of biologic indicators such as levels of serum cholesterol and triglycerides in the prediction of suicide risk in mood disorders was not fully supported from this small sample.
Pompili
Maurizio
M
Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, McLean Hospital-Harvard Medical School, USA. maurizio.pompili@uniroma1.it
Innamorati
Marco
M
Lester
David
D
Girardi
Paolo
P
Tatarelli
Roberto
R
D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000523:psychology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D012016:Reference Values; D012151:Resuscitation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012384:Rome; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*
D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol