A Cross-Sectional Study on Outcomes of Hospitalization in Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder After Six Months

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a serious psychiatric disorder that is characterized by unstable affect, mood, behavior, object relations, and self-image. In this study, a 6-month follow-up was performed to evaluate the outcomes of hospitalization in terms of symptoms severity, suicidal attempts, self-harm behaviors, substance use, and anger expression. This cross-sectional study was performed on 60 patients hospitalized with BPD in Iran Psychiatric Hospital in the first 6 months of 2018. Demographic information of patients was collected at the time of admission. Patients were assessed by initial psychiatric evaluations with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV [Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-1), Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders (SCID-2)], the Borderline Evaluation of Severity over Time (BEST), the Spielberger’s state-trait anger expression inventory and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). Medical comorbidities, self-harm and suicide ideations and attempts, high-risk behaviors, and substance use disorders were also assessed and recorded. Three months after discharge, the patients were reassessed by BEST questionnaire and after 6 months, they were reassessed using DASS, BEST, SCID-2, and Spielberger’s state-trait anger expression inventory.  The repeated measures analysis of changes in quantitative variables including the scores of the severity of symptoms in BEST, DASS, and Spielberger tools showed that the scores of DASS decreased significantly during the study (p=0.020), while no significant change was observed in the scores of Spielberger and BEST inventory. In patients with BPD, hospitalization was correlated with reduced depression, anxiety, and stress 6 months after discharge. Regular follow-ups along with regular patient visits can form an effective therapeutic relationship with the patients and help to improve monitoring of their drug usage, self-harming acts, and suicidal thoughts.