THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHOLESTEROL LEVEL AND DEPRESSION IN PATIENTS REFERRED TO THE TOXICOLOGY WARD OF TALEGHANI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN URMIA, 2018

Suicide is a major challenge in health of the community, and the rate of suicide is
one of the signs of a depressive disorder. On the other hand, there are hypotheses that blood cholesterol
levels affect depression, but it is not clear that how much of it is related to suicide attempts. Therefore,
the present study was carried out to determine the relationship between serum level of cholesterol and
depression in patients referred to the Toxicology Ward of Taleghani University Hospital in Urmia, 2018.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with 180 subjects. The
demographic and Beck Depression Inventory and a checklist for controlling serum cholesterol levels
were used and data were analyzed by SPSS version18.
Results: The prevalence of suicide in females was 54.4% and 45.6% in males, of which 82% were in
the 15 to 24 years old age group. About 85.9% of the victims had mild to severe depression and their
mean serum cholesterol level was 147 ± 35mg /dl. On the other hand, there was not any relationship
between cholesterol level with age, depression, suicide attempt rate, suicide attempts, and suicidal
tendency (p ≤ 0.05), but there was a relationship between cholesterol level and suicide rate (p = 0.002).
Conclusion: Perhaps blood cholesterol cannot be considered as a definitive cause of depression or
suicide. However, consideration of the role of depression as a risk factor for suicide commitment is
necessary. In order to prevent this social problem, it is necessary to pay attention to the promotion of
mental health and the use of a variety of treatments for mental disorders.