Low cholesterol associated with a 320% increased risk of suicide

This study was published in the BMJ 1992 Aug 1;305(6848):277-9

Study title and authors:
Low serum cholesterol concentration and short term mortality from injuries in men and women.

Lindberg G, Råstam L, Gullberg B, Eklund GA.
Centre for Public Health Research, Karlstad, Sweden.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1392858

This study set out to investigate the relationship between cholesterol levels and death rates from injuries including suicide. The study included 26,693 men and 27,692 women, (aged 45-74 years), who were followed for 20.5 years.

The study found:
(a) Those in the lowest 25% of the cholesterol distribution had a 180% increased risk of death from injuries compared to those in the top 25% of the cholesterol distribution.
(b) Those in the lowest 25% of the cholesterol distribution had a 320% increased risk of death from suicide compared to those in the top 25% of the cholesterol distribution.

Lindberg concluded: "Together with observations from intervention trials the findings support the existence of a relation between (lower) serum cholesterol concentration and suicide."

Links to other studies:
Both low cholesterol levels and declining cholesterol levels are associated with increased risk of death from suicide in men
Low cholesterol levels are associated with higher rates of attempted suicide
The lower the cholesterol level - the higher the risk of suicide