The comorbidity of personality disorders in eating disorders: a meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The present meta-analysis summarized the proportion of comorbid personality disorders (PDs) in patients with anorexia (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), respectively, and examined possible moderating variables. METHODS: A search of the databases PsychINFO, Embase, and Medline for the period 1980-2016 identified 87 studies from 18 different countries. RESULTS: The mean proportion of PDs among patients with any type of eating disorder (ED) was .52 compared to .09 in healthy controls. There were no statistically significant differences between AN (.49) and BN (.54) in proportions of any PD or PD clusters except for obsessive-compulsive PD (.23 vs .12 in AN and BN, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Both ED diagnoses had a similar comorbidity profile with a high prevalence of borderline and avoidant PDs. Moderator analyses conducted for any ED and any PD yielded significant differences for diagnostic systems with respect to EDs, method for assessing PD as well as patient weight and age.

Personality disorders in eating disorder not otherwise specified and binge eating disorder: a meta-analysis of comorbidity studies.

A meta-analysis was conducted to identify the proportion of comorbid personality disorders (PDs) in patients with eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) and binge eating disorder (BED). A search identified 20 articles in the period of 1987 to 2010. For EDNOS and BED, the comorbid proportions for any PD were 0.38 and 0.29, respectively; for cluster C PDs, 0.38 and 0.30, respectively (avoidant PD, 0.18 and 0.12, and obsessive-compulsive PD, 0.11 and 0.10, respectively); and for cluster B PDs, 0.25 and 0.11, respectively (borderline, 0.12 and 0.10). This pattern converged with findings on anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, except being lower. Because the comorbidity profiles for EDNOS and BED were highly similar, their underlying PD pathology seems similar. Few moderators were significant, except for interviews yielding lower estimates than that of questionnaires. The variance statistic for any PD comorbidity was wide for EDNOS and narrow for BED, thus partly supporting BED as a distinct eating disorder category and EDNOS as a potentially more severe condition than BED.

Comorbidity of personality disorders in mood disorders: a meta-analytic review of 122 studies from 1988 to 2010.

BACKGROUND: A meta-analysis was conducted to identify the proportions of comorbid personality disorders (PD) in mood disorders. METHODS: We found 122 empirical papers published in the period 1980-2010 on participants having mood disorders in addition to a comorbid PD. Mood disorders were classified as bipolar disorders (BD), major depressive disorders (MDD) and dysthymic disorders (DYS). Several moderators were coded as well. RESULTS: The risk of having at least one comorbid PD (any PD) was high across all three mood disorders (BD=.42, MDD=.45), but highest in DYS (.60). Cluster B and C PDs were most frequent in BD, while cluster C PDs dominated in MDD and DYS. Among the specific PDs, the paranoid (.11 versus .07/.05), borderline (.16 versus .14/.13), histrionic (.10 versus .06/.06) and obsessive-compulsive (.18 versus .09/.12) PDs occurred more frequently in BD versus MDD/DYS, whereas the avoidant PD (.22 versus .12/.16) was most frequent in DYS versus BD/MDD. Moderator analyses showed higher comorbidity when diagnoses were based on questionnaires versus clinical interviews, DSM-III-R versus DSM-IV, more women were included or the duration of the disorder was longer. Age of onset yielded mixed results. LIMITATIONS: Blind rating of diagnoses was recorded, but was employed in too few studies to be usable as an indication of diagnostic validity. CONCLUSIONS: Personality disorders are common in mood disorders. Implications of the identified moderators as well as the new DSM-5 diagnostic system are considered.

Comorbidity of personality disorders in anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis of 30 years of research.

BACKGROUND: A comprehensive meta-analysis to identify the proportions of comorbid personality disorders (PD) across the major subtypes of anxiety disorders (AD) has not previously been published. METHODS: A literature search identified 125 empirical papers from the period 1980-2010 on patients with panic disorders, social phobia, generalised anxiety, obsessive-compulsive (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Several moderators were coded. RESULTS: The rate of any comorbid PD was high across all ADs, ranging from .35 for PTSD to .52 for OCD. Cluster C PDs occurred more than twice as often as cluster A or B PDs. Within cluster C the avoidant PD occurred most frequently, followed by the obsessive-compulsive and the dependent PD. PTSD showed the most heterogeneous clinical picture and social phobia was highly comorbid with avoidant PD. A range of moderators were examined, but most were non-significant or of small effects, except an early age of onset, which in social phobia increased the risk of an avoidant PD considerably. Gender or duration of an AD was not related to variation in PD comorbidity. LIMITATIONS: Blind rating of diagnoses was recorded from the papers as an indication of diagnostic validity. However, as too few studies reported it the validity of the comorbid estimates of PD was less strong. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provided support to several of the proposed changes in the forthcoming DSM-5. Further comorbidity studies are needed in view of the substantial changes in how PDs will be diagnosed in the DSM-5.