• Daniela Gremaud-Heitz, Anke Riemenschneider, Marc Walter, Daniel Sollberger, Joachim Küchenhoff, and Gerhard Dammann.
• Psychiatric Hospital, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Psychiatric Hospital, Münsterlingen, Switzerland. Electronic address: daniela.gremaud@stgag.ch.
• Compr Psychiatry. 2014 Apr 1; 55 (3): 650-6.

BackgroundThe core features of borderline personality disorder (BPD) are affective instability, unstable relationships and identity disturbance. Axis I comorbidities are frequent, in particular affective disorders. The concept of atypical depression is complex and often underestimated. The purpose of the study was to investigate the comorbidity of atypical depression in borderline patients regarding anxiety-related psychopathology and interpersonal problems.MethodsSixty patients with BPD were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interviews for DSM-IV Axis I and II Disorders (SCID I, SCID II) as well as the Atypical Depression Diagnostic Scale (ADDS). Additionally, patients completed a questionnaire (SCL-90-R, BDI, STAI, STAXI, IIP-C).ResultsForty-five BPD patients (81.8%) had a comorbid affective disorder of which 15 (27.3%) were diagnosed with an atypical depression. In comparison to patients with major depressive disorder or no comorbid depression, patients with atypical depression showed significant higher scores in psychopathological symptoms regarding anxiety and global severity as well as interpersonal problems.ConclusionsThe presence of atypical depression in borderline patients is correlated with psychopathology, anxiety, and interpersonal problems and seems to be of clinical importance for personalized treatment decisions.Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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