Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is common among occupational health care clients with depression

To study how common personality disorders (PDs) are among employed subjects with first-episode depression. Depression is the single most common cause of working disability in Finland. Personality disorders are associated with depression.

Subjects were screened using the Beck Depression Inventory scale, with a cutoff point greater than 9. The structured clinical interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth revision, was used to assess mental disorders. Inclusion criterion was major depressive disorder.

Most of the 272 participants were female (83%) and the majority (74%) were older than 40 years. The main finding was that one third of the participants had obsessive-compulsive PD. The prevalence of obsessive-compulsive PD was 50% among men and 28% in women.

It is important to recognize comorbid PDs when assessing working-age persons experiencing depression.