Major depression in patients with borderline personality disorder: a clinical investigation.
OBJECTIVE
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by a high frequency of comorbidity with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aimed to compare the clinical characteristics of 2 groups of patients with MDD: those with concomitant BPD and those with other concomitant personality disorders.


METHODS
We assessed 119 outpatients, using a semistructured interview for demographic and clinical features, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, Hamilton anxiety and depression scales, the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSDS), the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS), the Sheehan Disability Scale, and the Revised Childhood Experiences Questionnaire. We performed a regression analysis, using the number of criteria for BPD as the dependent variable.


RESULTS
Severity of BPD was positively related to the ZSDS score, to self-mutilating behaviours, and to the occurrence of mood disorders in first-degree relatives; it was negatively related to the SOFAS score and age at onset of MDD.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with comorbid MDD and BPD present differential characteristics that indicate a more serious and impairing condition with a stronger familial link with mood disorders than is shown by depression patients with other Axis II codiagnoses.
Bellino
Silvio
S
Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Italy. silvio.bellino@unito.it
Patria
Luca
L
Paradiso
Erika
E
Di Lorenzo
Rossella
R
Zanon
Caterina
C
Zizza
Monica
M
Bogetto
Filippo
F
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires