Low Cholesterol Level in Patients With Antisocial Personality Disorder: the Association With Homicidal Behavior

R ecently, the relationship between serum cholesterol and psychiatric disorders had been focused on several psychiatric researches (1-18). High cholesterol levels have been demonstrated in patients with panic disorder (1, 2, 3, 6). An interesting topic is the relationship between cholesterol level and major depression. Low serum cholesterol level in the patients major depression has previously been noted by some authors (1, 11). Glueck et al (1994) demonstrated that patients with affective disorders had much lower plasma total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and higher triglyceride concentrations (10). A link between cholesterol and depression is intriguing because of the risk of developing a biological marker. In a previous study, Ağargün et al (1998) examined the association between low cholesterol level and major depression in a group of patients with panic disorder (2). They found that there was an association between low cholesterol level and the presence of major depression in patients with panic disorder. They suggested that a low serum cholesterol level might serve as biological marker of major depression in patients panic disorder (2). Results from several cohort studies suggest that low serum cholesterol concentration is associated with an increased risk of suicide and attempted suicide (9). In a comprehensive study, Zureik et al (1996) suggested that both low serum cholesterol concentration and declining cholesterol concentration were associated with increased risk of death from suicide in men (18). Low Cholesterol Level in Patients With Antisocial Personality Disorder: the Association With Homicidal Behavior