Utilization of medical resources in persons with DSM-III personality disorders in a community sample

A community survey of 401 randomly selected subjects yielded 249 responders, of which twenty-six had DSM-III criteria personality disorders (PDs), and 167 had no personality disorder traits (controls). More PDs than controls were medically hospitalized during the last year (38% vs 17%, p = .006). A number of significant associations was found between the number of DSM-III personality trait questions answered in a positive fashion and medical utilization. These associations varied by gender. Most striking was the .50 correlation for females between flamboyant personality disorder scores and visits to the family doctor for mental health reasons.