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No correlation of serum cholesterol levels with measures of violence in patients with schizophrenia and non-psychotic disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

T. Steinert ,
M. Woelfle  and
R.P. Gebhardt
T. Steinert*
Affiliation:
Centre of Psychiatry Weissenau, Dep. Psychiatry 1, University of Ulm, Ulm, Gemany
M. Woelfle
Affiliation:
Centre of Psychiatry Weissenau, Dep. Psychiatry 1, University of Ulm, Ulm, Gemany
R.P. Gebhardt
Affiliation:
Centre of Psychiatry Weissenau, Dep. Psychiatry 1, University of Ulm, Ulm, Gemany
*
*Address for correspondence: T. Steinert, ZfP Weissenau, Weingartshofer Str., D-88214 Ravensburg-Weissenau, Germany
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Summary

Epidemiological studies, animal studies, and clinical studies yielded conflicting results concerning a supposed association between increased risk for suicide and violence, and low serum cholesterol levels. Until now, no data has been available for patients with schizophrenia, a disorder with a well-known increased risk of violence. Correlations of serum cholesterol levels at admission and measures of violence were investigated in 103 consecutively admitted patients (44 males, 59 females) of a general psychiatric admission unit. Seventy subjects were diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (ICD-10 F 20, F25), and 33 were diagnosed as suffering from non-psychotic disorders (mainly personality disorders). The level of total exhibited violence during the inpatient treatment period was measured in each patient by the Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS), the Social Dysfunction and Aggression Scale (SDAS), the Staff Observation Aggression Scale (SOAS), and the Violence Scale (VS). Correlations of all violence measures were high (0.75–0.90), but no correlation was found with cholesterol levels, neither for psychotic nor for non-psychotic subjects, neither for men nor for women. The hypothesis of associations of violence and cholesterol levels is not supported by the data.

Keywords

aggressioncholesterolschizophreniaviolence
Type
Short communication
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 14 , Issue 6 , October 1999 , pp. 346 - 348
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 1999

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