title: Suicidality and hospitalisation in patients with borderline personality disorder who experience auditory verbal hallucinations.
abstract: In patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), about 22-50% experience auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). However, the impact of these hallucinations on suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, crisis-service interventions, and hospital admissions is unknown.
  
  
  
  In a cross-sectional design, data were collected with the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales (PSYRATS) and the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus, as well as from the medical records of a convenience sample of outpatients fulfilling the DSM-IV criteria for BPD.
  
  
  
  Of the 89 included patients, 27 experienced AVH. In the latter group, the presence of AVH was associated with a significantly higher incidence of suicidal plans and attempts in the month prior to study participation, more hospitalisations, and a shorter interval until hospitalisation. All subscales of the PSYRATS correlated positively with suicide plans, while the phenomenological and emotional subscales also correlated positively with suicide attempts. Moreover, higher scores on the emotional subscale were associated with more hospital admissions.
  
  
  
  AVH experienced by patients with BPD might constitute a risk factor for suicide plans and attempts, and hospitalisation. This finding emphasises that this population requires adequate clinical attention, as well as effective treatment for AVH.
authors.affiliation: Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands. Electronic address: c.slotema@psyq.nl.
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Slotema
authors.affiliation: Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M B A
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Niemantsverdriet
authors.affiliation: Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands; University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Psychiatry, Groningen, The Netherlands; Leiden University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Blom
authors.affiliation: Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands; VU University, Department of Clinical Psychology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Gaag
authors.affiliation: Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands; University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Psychiatry, Groningen, The Netherlands; Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Hoek
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Psychiatry, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: I E C
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Sommer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008501:Medical Records, Problem-Oriented / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Personality disorder; Self-harm; Suicide