The relationship between comorbid personality disorders and treatment received in patients with anxiety disorders

Few studies have addressed the relationship between the presence of a comor bid personality disorder and the amount of psychiatric treatment received b y patients with an Axis I disorder. This issue has not been studied in pati ents with anxiety disorders. In a prospective, naturalistic, longitudinal s tudy of anxiety disorders, 526 subjects were assessed with the Personality Disorder Examination, and types of treatment received in 1991 and 1996 were identified. In 1991, compared to subjects without a personality disorder, subjects with a personality disorder were as likely to receive medication a nd they received a greater number of medications. Subjects with borderline personality disorder were more likely to receive heterocyclic antidepressan ts and interventions characteristic of psychodynamic psychotherapy and cogn itive therapy; they also reported receiving a greater number of medications and types of psychosocial treatment than other subjects. In 1996, subjects with borderline personality disorder were more likely to receive psychodyn amic interventions. These findings suggest that in patients with an anxiety disorder, the presence of a comorbid personality disorder is associated wi th receiving a greater number of medications but not with a greater likelih ood of receiving pharmacologic or psychosocial treatment. However, the pres ence of borderline personality disorder is associated with a greater likeli hood of receiving, and receiving a greater number of, certain types of soma tic and psychosocial treatments.