title: Prevalence of personality disorders and their clinical correlates in outpatient adolescents with anorexia nervosa.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate personality disorder (PD) comorbidity and its clinical correlates in a sample of adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) and to compare them with similar studies on adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred one female AN outpatients (16-18 years old)-57 with AN restrictive type and 44 with AN binge-purging type-and 71 age-matched, healthy, female participants were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders. Five selected clinical variables of AN severity were also assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 24.8% of AN outpatients had one or more PD compared with 4.2% of the control participants (p < .001). PDs most frequently found in AN outpatients were avoidant, borderline, and obsessive-compulsive. Associations were found between AN binge-purging type and borderline PD and between AN restrictive type and obsessive-compulsive PD. AN outpatients with a PD had an earlier age of onset of AN (mean [standard deviation {SD}] = 15.4 [1.2] versus 16.1 [0.9], p = .002), lower lifetime lowest BMI (mean [SD] = 14.8 [1.5] versus 15.6 [1.3], p = .01), and more hospital admissions for AN (mean [SD] = 1.4 [0.9] versus 0.3 [0.6], p < .001) compared with those without PDs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Associations were found between AN and PDs in adolescents similar to those found in adults. The presence of a PD is associated with a greater severity of AN. PD assessment of adolescent AN patients may permit a more accurate diagnosis and better treatment planning.
authors: Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy. santino.gaudio@libero.it
authors: Santino
authors: S
authors: Gaudio
authors: Vincenzo
authors: V
authors: Di Ciommo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015897:Comorbidity; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D010045:Outpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index