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High cholesterol, triglycerides, and body-mass index in suicide attempters.

Brunner J, Bronisch T, Pfister H, Jacobi F, Höfler M, Wittchen HU

Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany. jbrunner@mpipsykl.mpg.de

Low cholesterol concentrations and cholesterol-lowering therapies have been suggested to be associated with increased suicidality. This article examined the association of cholesterol, triglycerides, and body-mass index (BMI) with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Findings are based on a nationally representative community sample of n = 4,181 subjects (18-65 years) examined with a standardized diagnostic interview (CIDI) for (DSM-IV) mental disorders. Controlling for age and gender the study revealed a moderate positive association between cholesterol, triglycerides, BMI, and suicide attempts in subjects with depressive symptoms during the past 12 months (n = 1,205). The results of this study are compatible with two recent epidemiological cohort studies showing a positive association between cholesterol and completed suicide.

Published 18 November 2005 in Arch Suicide Res, 10(1): 1-9.
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