Cholesterol, violent death, and mental disorder

BMJ 1994;309:421-2 (13 August)

Editorials

Cholesterol, violent death, and mental disorder

Although primary prevention studies have shown that reducingserum cholesterol concentration leads to a clear reduction incardiac morbidity and mortality, total mortality is unaffected.The increase in deaths from accidents, violence, and suicidein the treated groups has not yet been adequately explained,¹though an association between low cholesterol concentrationand psychiatric illness has been suggested as a possible cause.²The finding has also been elaborated in neurobiological terms,implicating a relation between membrane cholesterol, serotonin,and impulsivity.³

How seriously should this association be taken? Is the apparentrelation of suicidal, accidental, and violent death with lowserum cholesterol concentrations a true finding or simply dueto chance? The association was initially regarded as an anomalousoccurrence, but it has been too consistent to be dismissed.⁴It has appeared in studies irrespective of whether drugs ordiet were used to lower cholesterol concentrations. A studyto examine the relation . . . [Full text of this article]

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