Mutual influence between mood disorders and personality disorders

Abstract

Introduction

Several studies have explored the vulnerability to mood disorders that constitute some personality traits.

Aims

To study the potential relationship between mood disorders and personality disorders.

Objective

We hypothesized that personality disorders can be related to severe mood disorders.

Methods

This was a retrospective study including the period from January 2000 till September 2015 and related to patients in whom the diagnosis of mood disorder and personality one were retained according to the criteria of the DSM-IV TR while the sociodemographic and clinical were collected by a pre-established railing.

Results

We included 28 patients (15 ♂, 13 ♀). The average age was 38 years. Eighteen (64.3%) patients (7 ♂, 11 ♀) are unemployed. Fifteen patients (10 ♂, 5 ♀) were schooled until secondary level. Seventeen patients (60.7%) were married. The bipolar I disorder (BD I) was most frequently founded (50%), followed by the major depressive disorder in 25% (n = 7) then by the bipolar II disorder in 21.4% (n = 6). A case of dysthymia was also noted. Half of the personality disorders were the borderline type, followed by the histrionic type in 28.6% (n = 8) then by the antisocial in 17.9% (n = 5) and finally one patient presented a paranoiac personality. The antisocial personality was significantly associated with the BD I (P = 0.011) and half of the patients with a pathological personality, presented a depressive symptomatology.

Conclusion

The personality disruption is a factor of severity of the thymic disorders. Consequences on the management of patients and their response to treatments remain available.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.