Personality disorders among subjects recovered from eating disorders.
OBJECTIVE
Personality disorders are common in symptomatic eating disorders subjects. Because personality symptoms could be exaggerated by malnutrition or Axis I disorders, we studied women who had recovered from eating disorders for at least 1 year to see if personality disorder symptoms persisted in the well state.


METHODS
Personality disorders were evaluated in 10 women recovered from anorexia nervosa (AN), 28 women recovered from bulimia nervosa (BN), and 16 women recovered from AN and BN, using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R personality disorders.


RESULTS
Fourteen of 54 subjects (26%) met the criteria for at least one personality disorder, such as self-defeating, obsessive-compulsive, or borderline personality disorder. Cluster B personality disorders were closely associated with bulimic subtypes.


CONCLUSIONS
While a recovery from eating disorders may have an attenuating influence on the symptoms of personality disorders, such personality disorder diagnoses persist after recovery in some recovered subjects.
Matsunaga
H
H
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Kaye
W H
WH
McConaha
C
C
Plotnicov
K
K
Pollice
C
C
Rao
R
R
D000328:Adult; D003289:Convalescence; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index