Associations between cholesterol and suicidal behavior in adolescent patients have not been explored in depth. In this study, 66 patients consecutively admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit following attempted suicide were compared with a control group of 54 patients with no history of suicide attempts. The age range of the sample was from 8 to 18 years old. Cholesterol levels were significantly lower in attempted suicide patients than in controls (p \ 0.02), supporting the hypothesis that lower cholesterol levels might be associated with suicidal behavior in patients with similar acute phase of their disorder.
Background and Aims
Patients with severe mental disorders (SMD) have been classically considered as a particularly high‐risk population for bloodborne virus infections. We performed a systematic screening of hepatitis B and C virus among the population with SMD in the area of influence of Hospital Clínic (Barcelona) in order to evaluate the real prevalence of these infections and achieve HCV microelimination in this subpopulation.
Methods
We screened two cohorts for anti‐HCV and HBsAg: Cohort A (hospitalized patients with SMD, done systematically) and Cohort B (outpatients, mental health centre‐CSMA, done voluntarily). Risk factors and socio‐demographic variables were collected. In positive cases, telematic review was activated by Hepatology, calculation of FIB‐4 and prescription of direct‐acting agents (DAA) in HCV or follow‐up in HBV.
Results
In Cohort A, 404 patients were screened. 3 HBV patients were detected (0.7%). In all of them, there was a history of drug use. 12 anti‐HCV positive patients were detected (3%); 8 of them had a history of drug use. Among the HCV positive, only 2 patients were viraemic (received DAA, both achieving SVR) as most of them (n = 6) had already been cured with DAA. In cohort B, 305 patients were screened, after 542 (64% of the target population) declined to participate. No cases of HCV or HBV were detected.
Conclusions
HCV/HBV prevalence among SMD population with no history of drug use does not seem to be different from the general population. These data may be of interest for defining health policies.
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