The risk of acute suicidality in psychiatric inpatients increases with lowplasma cholesterol

Several studies suggest that the reduction of total cholesterol in blood by lipid-lowering agents is accompanied by a decrease in the incidence of cor onary heart disease, but not in total mortality. Likewise, epidemiological studies show that low total cholesterol concentrations appear to be associa ted with an increased risk of death from suicide and injuries. There is lit tle information with respect to acute suicidality and cholesterol in psychi atric inpatients; therefore the aim of the present study was to examine exa ctly this relation between plasma cholesterol and acute suicidality. The st udy comprised 45 acutely suicidal psychiatric inpatients, 95 nonsuicidal in patients with affective disorder, and 20 healthy subjects, Psychopathologic al measures (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Hamilton Depression Rating Sca le, Beck's Suicide Intent Scale) were established in these patients as well as the plasma concentrations of cholesterol in patients and healthy subjec ts. The most important finding of this study is that the risk of acute suic idality decreases with increasing total cholesterol levels irrespective of age, gender, and nutritional status (i.e., body mass index). Comparison of total cholesterol levels between age- and sex-matched suicidal and nonsuici dal patients with affective disorder supports this observation: Despite the slightly higher body mass index, suicidal patients have significantly lowe r cholesterol levels than nonsuicidal patients. Our findings support the no tion that acute suicidality is associated with low plasma cholesterol; this observation needs to be further studied in the context of a biological mar ker for suicide risk.