In the present report, we analyzed the age, sex, and axis I comorbidit
y of a large sample of patients with dependent personality disorder, a
nd compared the findings with those obtained in patients with other pe
rsonality disorders. The sample consisted of 3640 consecutive hospital
admissions with a DSM-III axis II diagnosis. Of the 342 patients with
a dependent diagnosis, 51.2% were over 40 years of age, compared with
only 25.7% of the remaining patients with a personality disorder. The
dependent sample was 69.6% female compared with 58.6% of those with o
ther types of personality disorders. In general, dependent patients we
re more likely to have major depression and bipolar disorder than thos
e with other personality disorders. Dysthymia and anxiety disorders oc
curred no more often than they did in the other personality disorders,
as a whole. The rate of alcohol use disorders was lower than that obs
erved in any other personality disorder except schizotypal. The rate o
f drug use disorders was intermediate between the lowest and highest r
ates in the other personality disorders.