Serum lipids and lifetime suicide attempts in patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

The rate of suicide attempts in patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is reported to be approximately 10%. Potential markers of suicidality, among which biological ones, have been identified. The aim of this naturalistic study is to evaluate the relationship between serum lipids levels and suicide attempts in patients with OCD. Subjects with a principal diagnosis of DSM-IV TR OCD and a YBOCS >= 16 were included. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, serum lipids profile, body mass index were collected. One-hundred-four patients were included. Nine patients (8.7%) reported at least a lifetime suicide attempt. HDL cholesterol was significantly lower while triglycerides were higher in lifetime suicide attempters compared to the other group. No significant differences emerged between attempters and non-attempters in serum total cholesterol, other metabolic parameters or Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) rate. Our study provides further evidence of a potential role of metabolic parameters on suicidality: decreased HDL-C and increased triglycerides levels could be a trait marker of higher vulnerability to suicidality in patients with OCD. Further studies should be performed with a longitudinal design in order to explain this association.