Borderline personality symptomatology, experience of multiple types of trauma, and health care utilization among women in a primary care setting.
BACKGROUND
This project was designed to explore the relationship between recollected trauma history, borderline personality symptomatology, and health care utilization among women in a primary care setting.


METHODS
Women (N = 116) consecutively recruited during routine gynecological appointments were given a set of questionnaires that explored 5 types of trauma (i.e., sexual, physical, and emotional abuse; physical neglect; witnessing violence) as well as borderline personality symptomatology. The preceding 12 months of participants' medical records were blindly reviewed to determine several measures of health care utilization (i.e., number of telephone contacts to the facility, physician visits, ongoing and acute prescriptions, specialist referral).


RESULTS
Multiple forms of trauma were related to increased telephone contacts, physician visits, acute prescriptions, and ongoing prescriptions. Borderline personality symptomatology was related to physician visits and ongoing prescriptions. Neither was related to the number of specialist referrals. Total number of types of trauma and borderline personality symptomatology scores were moderately related to each other (r = .36, p < .01).


CONCLUSIONS
With the exception of specialist referrals, the experience of multiple types of trauma and borderline personality symptomatology contribute to higher health care utilization among women in a primary care setting, but not to a substantial degree. The experience of trauma and borderline personality symptomatology appear partially related to each other. This relationship has several implications.
Sansone
R A
RA
Department of Psychiatry, Wright State University School of Medicine and Kettering Medical Center, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
Wiederman
M W
MW
Sansone
L A
LA
D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data