Total serum cholesterol levels and suicide attempts in child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients

Teresa Plana (1) , R. Gracia (2) , I. Méndez (3) , L. Pintor (4) , L. Lazaro (1, 5, 6) , J. Castro-Fornieles (1, 5, 6)

1 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Department, Neurosciences Institute, Hospital Clinic Barcelona
2 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department
3 Alicia Koplowitz Foundation Fellowship, Department of Child Psychiatry
4 Psychiatry Department, Neurosciences Institute
5 IDIBAPS - Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer
6 Health Sciences Division, Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology Department

Associations between cholesterol and suicidal behavior in adolescent patients have not been explored in depth. In this study, 66 patients consecutively admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit following attempted suicide were compared with a control group of 54 patients with no history of suicide attempts. The age range of the sample was from 8 to 18 years old. Cholesterol levels were significantly lower in attempted suicide patients than in controls ( < 0.02), supporting the hypothesis that lower cholesterol levels might be associated with suicidal behavior in patients with similar acute phase of their disorder.

Mots clés: Suicide; Cholesterol; Adolescents; Child; Inpatients

Teresa Plana, R. Gracia, I. Méndez, L. Pintor, L. Lazaro, et al.. Total serum cholesterol levels and suicide attempts in child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010, 19 (7), pp.615-619. ⟨10.1007/s00787-009-0084-x⟩. ⟨hal-00551209⟩