HYPOCHOLESTEROLEMIA, HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIA, SUICIDE, AND SUICIDE IDEATION IN CHILDREN HOSPITALIZED FOR PSYCHIATRIC DISEASES

To assess relationships of total plasma cholesterol (TC) and triglycer ide (TG) values to suicide, suicide ideation, and hospitalization for psychiatric disease, we studied 220 children, ages 5 to 18 y, hospital ized with affective, adjustment, disruptive, anxiety, schizophrenic, o ther, and organic psychiatric disorders. The 135 male and 85 female pa tients had higher TG values (p = 0.0001 and 0.0003, respectively) and higher Quetelet Indices (p = 0.0001 and 0.003, respectively) than the 732 male and 316 female schoolchild controls; male patients had higher TC values than male controls (p = 0.014). Substance abuse in patients was an independent inverse determinant of TC value (p = 0.05); TG val ue correlated positively with alcohol use (p less than or equal to 0.1 ) and sustance abuse (p < 0.05). After covariance adjustment for age, race, se?; and Quetelet, children having adjustment disorders with dep ression had much lower covariance-adjusted TC value than control schoo lchildren (3.91 versus 4.29 mmol/L, p = 0.003), whereas those with dis ruptive behavior with oppositional defiant disorder had much higher ad justed TC value (5.09 mmol/L, p = 0.0001). After covariance adjusting for age, race, sex, Quetelet, cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and subs tance abuse, children having adjustment disorders with concomitant dep ression had the highest group suicide tendencies (attempts and ideatio n) and the lowest covariance-adjusted TC value (4.03 mmol/L). Converse ly, children having disruptive behavior with attention deficit hyperac tivity disorder or disruptive behavior with oppositional defiant disor der had 50% lower suicide index than those with adjustment disorders w ith concomitant depression and higher adjusted TC levels (4.45 and 5.1 2 mmol/L, p 0.0003). Children with psychiatric hospitalizations have h igh TG values, and those with adjustment disorders with concomitant de pression have low TC values, which is positively associated with suici de tendencies. We speculate that the associations between low TC level , high TG level, suicide tendency, and hospitalization for psychiatric disease do not reflect cause and effect but may be epiphenomena.