Relationship between attempted suicide, serum cholesterol level and novelty seeking in psychiatric in-patients

This study sought to compare the serum cholesterol levels of psychiatric in-patients, with and without recent suicidal behavior. The hypothesis was that the temperament dimension novelty seeking (NS) would be an intermediary variable, correlated with both serum cholesterol level and suicidal behavior. The study included 155 psychiatric in-patients, 21.9% (n=34) of whom had recently attempted suicide. Their cholesterol level was compared to that of patients with no suicide attempt. The NS dimension was explored with the aid of Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory. Significantly lower average cholesterol levels were found in women who had attempted suicide before hospitalization than for the others (4.71 mmol/l+/-0.83 vs. 5.52 mmol/l+/-1.36). Similar results were not found for men. However, the average NS scores did not differ according to suicide attempts in women or in men, and the scores of NS were not correlated with cholesterol level. This study confirms an association between low cholesterol and suicidal behavior in women only, but this association seems independent from the NS personality dimension. The absence of a correlation between serum cholesterol levels and suicidal behavior in men could be linked to the small number of men included in the study.