Table 2.
Effects of serum total cholesterol levels on suicidal behaviors at baseline (N = 1,094) and follow-up (N = 884) according to age group.
| Age | Total cholesterol (tertile) | At baseline (N = 1,094) | During 1-year follow-up (N = 884) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | Higher baseline suicidal severitya | N | Increased suicidal severityb | Fatal/non-fatal suicide attempt | |||||
| N (%) | Odds ratio (95% CI)c | N (%) | Odds ratio (95% CI)c | N (%) | Odds ratio (95% CI)c | ||||
| <60 | High | 189 | 62 (32.8) | Reference | 148 | 19 (12.8) | Reference | 3 (2.0) | Reference |
| Middle | 194 | 73 (37.6) | 1.05 (0.66–1.68) | 152 | 19 (12.5) | 0.93 (0.46–1.89) | 7 (4.6) | 2.36 (0.55–10.06) | |
| Low | 189 | 70 (37.0) | 1.05 (0.64–1.73) | 157 | 37 (23.6) | 1.99 (1.02–3.88)* | 17 (10.8) | 5.95 (1.51–23.53)* | |
| ≥60 | High | 177 | 61 (34.5) | Reference | 145 | 30 (20.7) | Reference | 6 (4.1) | Reference |
| Middle | 167 | 46 (27.5) | 0.63 (0.37–1.06) | 140 | 17 (12.1) | 0.52 (0.27–1.03) | 0 (0.0) | 0.00 (N/A) | |
| Low | 178 | 50 (28.1) | 0.86 (0.51–1.45) | 142 | 33 (23.2) | 1.27 (0.68–2.37) | 5 (3.5) | 0.96 (0.23–4.02) | |
Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale suicidality scale score of 4 (moderate)–7 (extremely severe).
Increase in Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale suicidality item score during follow-up, compared with baseline.
Adjusted for sex, educational level, living alone, religious observance, body mass index (BMI), melancholic features, atypical features, duration of illness, recurrent depression, family history of depression, childhood abuse, number of physical disorders, and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-Anxiety Subscale (HADS-A) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores.
p < 0.05 (All p-values are empirical since the approach was not really “hypothesis free” and based on previous evidence on the associations).