Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Nov;140(5):458-467.
doi: 10.1111/acps.13094. Epub 2019 Sep 21.

Societal costs of Borderline Personality Disorders: a matched-controlled nationwide study of patients and spouses

L H Hastrup  1 , P Jennum  2 , R Ibsen  3 , J Kjellberg  4 , E Simonsen  1   5
Affiliations

Societal costs of Borderline Personality Disorders: a matched-controlled nationwide study of patients and spouses

L H Hastrup et al. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2019 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: Information on societal cost of patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and spouses is limited. The aim was to investigate factual societal costs before and after initial BPD diagnosis.

Method: A register-based cohort study of 2756 patients with incident BPD (ICD F60.3) with spouses and 11 024 matched controls, during 2002-2016.

Results: Total direct healthcare costs and lost productivity costs amounted €40 441 for patients with BPD, which was more than 16 times higher than the matched controls. Somatic and psychiatric health care costs and costs of lost productivity were increased during 5 years before initial diagnosis of BPD. Before and after initial diagnosis, health care costs and lost productivity were increased among spouses of patients with BPD.

Conclusion: Patients with BPD differed substantially from the general population with respect to all included costs. The study documented a significant burden on their spouses. Besides the early onset of BPD, which implies that patients are affected before they finish school and enter labor market, the neurocognitive impairment and fundamental symptoms of BPD, e.g. unstable, intense relationships, impulsivity, and lack of stable sense of self together with psychiatric and somatic comorbidity are part of explanation of the excess costs of BPD.

Keywords: first episode; health economy; personality disorder; public mental health; relatives.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Zanarini MC, Frankenburg FR, Khera GS, Bleichmar J. Treatment histories of borderline inpatients. Compr Psychiatry 2001;42:144-150.
    1. Black DW, Blum N, Pfohl B, Hale N. Suicidal behavior in borderline personality disorder: prevalence, risk factors, prediction, and prevention. J Pers Disord 2004;18:226-239.
    1. Stanley B, Perez-Rodriguez MM, Labouliere C, Roose S. A neuroscience-oriented research approach to borderline personality disorder. J Pers Disord 2018;32:784-822.
    1. Thomsen M, Ruocco A, Mathiesen B, Simonsen E. Neurological perspectives. In: Livesley WJ, Larstone R, eds. Handbook of personality disorders. Theory, research, and treatment. London: Guilford Press, 2018:283-200.
    1. Levy KN. The implications of attachment theory and research for understanding borderline personality disorder. Dev Psychopathol 2005;17:959-986.

LinkOut - more resources