The Risk of Acute Suicidality in Psychiatric Inpatients With low Plasma Cholesterol

The aim of the present study was to examine the relation between plasma cholesterol & acute suicidality. The most important finding of this study is that the risk of acute suicidality decreases with increasing total cholestrol levels irrespective of age, gender, & nutritional status. Despite the slightly higher body mass index, suicidal patients have significantly lower cholesterol levels than nonsuicidal patients. Our findings support the notion that acute suicidality is associated with low plasma cholesterol. This observation needs to be further studied in the context of a biological marker for suicide risk. (16 refs)