Impulsivity and aggressiveness in bipolar disorder with co-morbid borderline personality disorder.
Few studies to date have been performed to investigate impulsivity and aggressivity in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD); the primary aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of co-morbidity of BPD on impulsivity and aggressivity in patients affected by BD. A total of 57 patients (male=20, female=37) affected by BD (BD-I 51%; BD-II 49%) in clinical stable remission were recruited; 28 patients were affected by BD (49.1%), 18 by BD and BPD (31.6%) and 11 (19.3%) by BD plus other personality disorders (OPD) (19.3%). They were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID)-I and SCID-II, and were evaluated by means of the Clinical Global Impression (CGI)-severity and Global Assessment Functioning (GAF) scales, the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11) and the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ). Mean total scores were significantly higher among BD/BPD patients with respect to BD and to BD/OPD, both on the BIS-11 and the AQ; the rate of attempted suicides was approximately three times higher in BD/BPD patients with respect to BD and 7.6 times higher than in BD/OPD patients. The results of our study suggest that patients with co-morbid BD and BPD are more impulsive and aggressive. Furthermore, this co-morbid condition may be a risk factor for suicidality.
Department of Public Health, University of Cagliari, Italy. bcarpini@iol.it
Bernardo
B
Carpiniello
Lorena
L
Lai
Silvia
S
Pirarba
Claudia
C
Sardu
Federica
F
Pinna
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D055815:Young Adult