TOTAL CHOLESTEROL AND SUICIDALITY IN DEPRESSION

There exists considerable controversy regarding an association between low total cholesterol and increased mortality from suicide. As suicid e mortality is a crude marker for suicidal ideation and behavior, we i nvestigated the association between total cholesterol and suicidality in a depressed sample. Ninety, men and women meeting structured criter ia for a major depressive episode of at least moderate severity partic ipated in a study of predictors of treatment response. A three level v ariable codified the degree of suicidality in the previous month: no s uicidal thoughts (39/90), suicidal ideation or plan (38/90), and a sui cide attempt (13/90). There was a significant univariate association b etween lower cholesterol levels and increasing degrees of suicidality. In a multivariate analysis, this association was the only one that ne ared statistical significance (p = 0.068). Although it is premature to conclude that these variables are causally associated, data from a nu mber of sources suggest that this association is worthy of further stu dy.