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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Schizophrenia
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1595783
Sex differences of the lipid profile, impulsivity and suicidality in psychiatric inpatients
Provisionally accepted- 1University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
- 2Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
- 3Umeå University, Umeå, Västerbotten, Sweden
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Effective management of suicidality and impulsivity in hospitalized psychiatric patients is vital for improving outcomes and ensuring safety. Psychiatric patients, especially those with schizophrenia, exhibit higher tendencies towards aggressive and suicidal behaviors. This study aims to explore sex-specific associations between lipid profiles, impulsivity, and suicidality among psychiatric inpatients. A total of 158 patients (92 men, 66 women) were assessed using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), Columbia–Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), and the Karolinska Interpersonal Violence Scale (KIVS). Serum lipid levels (total cholesterol, LDL, HDL) were obtained from fasting blood samples.Among men, higher total cholesterol and LDL were positively correlated with overall impulsivity (e.g., LDL and BIS Total: ρ = .308, p = .006), especially with non-planning and cognitive impulsivity domains. No significant lipid-suicidality associations were observed in men. In contrast, women showed significant negative correlations between HDL levels and multiple measures of suicidality (e.g., HDL and lifetime suicide attempt frequency: ρ = –.374, p = .021), while impulsivity showed no significant relationship with lipid levels. Linear regression confirmed that LDL predicted impulsivity in men (adjusted R² = .265, p = .031), and HDL with LDL, along with age and BMI, together explained 52% of the variance in suicidality in women (adjusted R² = .523, p = .0006). These findings underscore the importance of considering lipid profiles as sex-specific biomarkers: elevated LDL may be a marker for impulsivity in men, while low HDL may indicate higher suicide risk in women. Incorporating lipid monitoring into psychiatric care may improve individualized risk assessments and interventions.
Keywords: impulsivity, Suicidality, Suicide, HDL, LDL, Lipids, Inpatients, sex differences
Received: 18 Mar 2025; Accepted: 14 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bella, Kafetzopoulos and Chatzittofis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Andreas Chatzittofis, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, 1678, Nicosia, Cyprus
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