DEPENDENT PERSONALITY-DISORDER - AGE, SEX, AND AXIS-I COMORBIDITY

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.