No evidence for metabolic syndrome and lipid profile differences in patients suffering from bipolar I disorder with and without suicide attempts

Abstract

Objective. The aim of the present study was to provide further evidence of (1) metabolic syndrome and blood lipid profile differences between suicide attempting and non-attempting patients with bipolar disorder (BPD) I and to assess these differences (2) as a function of acute depressive or manic phase. Methods. Fifty inpatients (mean age: 36.14 years 48% males) with BPD I took part in the study. After recruitment, patients were clustered in four groups: 13 suicide attempters (SAs) assessed during a manic phase, 12 SAs assessed during a depressive phase, 15 non-SAs assessed during a manic phase, and 10 non-SAs assessed during a depressive phase. Body mass index (BMI), metabolic syndrome, blood pressure, blood lipids (cholesterol, high- and low-density lipids, and triglyceride), and fasting blood sugar were assessed. Results. Neither metabolic syndrome, blood lipid values, fasting blood sugar, nor BMI or blood pressure differed between the SAs and non-SAs, or between patients in an acute manic phase and those in a depressed phase. The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 26.0%. Conclusion. Among patients with BPD I neither the occurrence of metabolic syndrome nor lipid values or fasting blood sugar are reliable biomarkers of suicidal behavior during either acute depressive or manic phase.

Key words::

• Metabolic syndrome
• suicide
• bipolar disorder
• lipid values
• fasting blood sugar
• acute phase

Acknowledgements

We thank Gioia Schultheiss for text editing, and Nick Emler (University of Surrey, UK) for proofreading the manuscript.

Statement of interest

All authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was conducted without external funding.

Notes

¹ Lipid metabolism alteration is now seen to be of particular significance for mental disorders and brain defects. Cholesterol has an important role in regulating lipid organization and is the main precursor for steroid biosynthesis in the brain. Reduced levels of these steroids can be related to poor outcome in many brain pathologies (Adibhatla and Hatcher 2008; Adibhatla et al. 2006). The crucial role of lipids in tissue physiology and cell signaling is apparent in many neurological disorders, including BPDs (Marx et al. 2006).

² This study suggests that a possible underlying mechanism accounting for the association between serum lipid levels and SA may be a concomitant depletion of the total amount of serotonin (or the serotonergic neurotransmission) in the CNS.