Low cholesterol levels are associated with more suicide attempts

This post includes a synopsis of a study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders 2011 Apr 25 and a recipe for rib-eye steak with beefy onion sauce.

Study title and authors:
Measurement of total serum cholesterol in the evaluation of suicidal risk.
Olié E, Picot MC, Guillaume S, Abbar M, Courtet P.
Université Montpellier 1, Montpellier, France; CHRU Montpellier, France; INSERM U1061, France.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21521628

Books:

The study investigated the association between suicidal behavior and low levels of cholesterol in men and women. A total of 3207 subjects were included, divided into three groups: 510 patients with a history of suicidal attempts, 275 patients with no history of suicidal attempts, and 2422 controls.

 
The study found:
(a) Cholesterol leves were significantly lower in suicide attempters than in non-attempters and controls for both genders.
(b) The proportion of suicide attempters with the lowest cholesterol levels was significantly higher than those with the highest cholesterol levels.
 
To conclude: Low cholesterol levels are associated with more suicide attempts.
 
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Recipe of the day

Rib-Eye Steak with Beefy Onion Sauce

Ingredients:

Food Mall: Rib-Eye Steak

2 lean beef rib-eye, sirloin or rump steak

25g/1oz butter

5ml/1tsp tallow

½ large onion, peeled and sliced

5ml/1tsp balsamic vinegar

150ml stock 

Method:

1.Heat the butter and tallow in a pan. Cook the steaks according to preference. During the last two minutes of the cooking time add the onion. Once cooked, remove steaks from the pan and keep warm.

2.Add the balsamic vinegar and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes until reduced by about half.

3.Serve the steak and sauce with the celeriac mash or spinach mash (just stir spinach through the steaming mash to wilt slightly and serve) and seasonal green vegetables.

Rib-Eye Steak