Quality of physical health care among patients with personality disorder

To investigate the assessment and treatment of physical health in patients with personality disorder and compare this to the care received in schizophrenia.

We collected data from a random sample of 246 patients with personality disorder on monitoring and intervention for seven key aspects of physical health. We compared the results with those from a random sample with schizophrenia.

In our sample, 160 (65%) people had the diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder. In total, 104 (42.3%) people with personality disorder were being prescribed antipsychotic medication; 23 (9.3%) participants had all seven aspects of physical health recorded. Alcohol was most frequently recorded (76%); BMI (38.6%), blood glucose (25.2%) and blood cholesterol (20.7%) were less likely to be recorded. Interventions were not given to all those requiring them. Compared to people with schizophrenia, a lower proportion had evidence of assessment of smoking, illicit drug use, blood glucose and blood lipid levels. Smoking cessation advice was more likely to be offered to people with schizophrenia (difference = 29.4%, 95% CI = 12.5 to 44.7).

Physical health is under-assessed and under-treated in patients with personality disorder. Medical staff must do more to help tackle increased morbidity among this group.