This study was published in the BMJ 1995; 310:1632-6
Study title and authors:
Serum cholesterol concentrations in parasuicide.
Gallerani M, Manfredini R, Caracciolo S, Scapoli C, Molinari S, Fersini C
Emergency Department, St Anna Hospital, Corso Giovecca, Ferrara, Italy
This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7795448
The objective of the study was to evaluate whether people who have committed parasuicide have low cholesterol levels. (Parasuicide is a suicide attempt or gesture and self-harm where there is no result in death.) The study included 331 parasuicide subjects aged 44 years and 331 controls.
The study found
(a) The parasuicide subjects had 9% lower cholesterol levels than the
(b) With regard to violence of parasuicide method, for the 331 parasuicide subjects significantly lower cholesterol concentrations were found in the group who used high violence methods.
Gallerani concluded: "The study showed low cholesterol concentrations after parasuicide. This finding agrees with previous studies, which suggest an association between low cholesterol concentration and suicide."
