Serum lipid levels and suicide attempts

Objective: To determine whether a correlation exists between lower serum lipid concentrations and increased suicide risk. Method: Serum lipid profiles were pair-matched for 60 patients who had recently experienced failed attempts at suicide and equal numbers of non-suicidal psychiatric patients, and normal controls. Suicide attempt severity was scored using Weisman and Worden's risk-rescue rating scale. Results: (a) Total serum cholesterol and low density lipoprotein levels were found to be lower in the parasuicidal population at statistically significant levels (P < 0.01 and <0.05, respectively); (b) triglyceride concentrations were lower in suicide attempters with major depression compared with non-suicidal depressed patients; and (c) risk-rescue rating scores were negatively correlated with total serum cholesterol levels (r = -0.347, P = 0.007). Conclusion: Low lipid metabolism may be a potential biological marker in the assessment of suicide risk. Further investigations are necessary to elucidate the biological mechanisms of these findings.