Study on serum cholesterol level and level of violence in individuals attempting suicide

BACKGROUND: Lower levels of cholesterol have been associated with increased levels of depression, aggression and impulsivity, which have in turn been indicated as the factors contributing towards increased suicidal attempts. This study hopes to establish an inverse relation between total serum cholesterol levels and level of violence in parasuicide patients.METHODS: A year-long, cross-sectional study of 98 parasuicide subjects was conducted. Patients suffering from any other psychiatric conditions and on any medication for comorbidities were excluded from the study. Patients were assessed for their level of violence using three CDC questionnaires: 1) beliefs supporting aggression; 2) attitude towards violence; 3) beliefs about aggression and alternatives, and their serum cholesterol level was taken into consideration.RESULTS: We found a significant correlation with the result showing increasing levels of beliefs supporting aggression (r=-0.4116, P=0.000026.), attitude towards violence (r=-0.6924, P<0.00001) and beliefs about aggression (r=-0.395, P=0.000057) with decreasing cholesterol levels, and increasing levels of use of non-violent strategies (r=0.292, P=0.003529) with increasing levels of cholesterol.CONCLUSIONS: Establishing this relation has a positive effect on both the medical community and the general public. It helps in better treatment of depressive patients as their progress can easily be tracked. It can also be used to screen at-risk individuals. It promotes awareness and increases understanding of mental disorders in the general public, thereby improving its acceptance as a disease and not a mere case of weakness of the mind.