What is the rate of concurrence for borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder?

Question

Like, has anyone done a study on the percentage of borderlines who are also bipolar, and the percentage of manic-depressives who are also borderline?

It seems like an interesting thing to research.

Answer 1

I know they go together pretty often.

I work for a mental health agency, it would be pretty easy for me to run a computer query for a quick set of statistics showing the rates for the people we serve. I have done things like that before and it won't take very long.

If I remember and I have the time, I could do that at work tomorrow.

A psychiatrist once told me that he thought Borderline Personality Disorder may really be a variation of Bipolar Disorder.

Personality Disorders are generally thought to be "learned behavior" but Borderline PD typically includes things like mood swings, transient psychosis and dissociation. I don't understand how someone can "learn" to have those kind of symptoms; since they are considered real symptoms and not the result of "acting."

Addendum:
Here's some raw statistics I got from my place of work.
It's a state mental health agency in Missouri. Our primary focus is Mental Retardation and developmental disabilities (autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, learning disorders, etc.), but many of our clients also have psychiatric disorders.

30,000 total clients being served
131 have some form of Bipolar Disorder
28 have Borderline Personality DIsorder
6 have both Bipolar and Borderline
So, out of 131 clients with Bipolar, 5% have Borderline.
Out of 28 clients with Borderline, 21% have Bipolar.

I think 21% is fairly high number, that's almost one out of four.

Please note that the results might be different in a group of psychiatric patients who do not have developmental disabilities, but at least this is something to consider. Also, some of the clients with Borderline were diagnosed with other mental disorders such as Schizophrenia and Major Depression.

Answer 2

Some would argue they are the same thing.

Also, all of the personality disorder diagnoses (except for antisocial personality disorder) have very poor interrater reliability. Meaning that if get a diagnosis of "borderline" from one doctor and were to go to ten different psychiatrists you might get ten different diagnoses.

I wouldn't put too much faith in the diagnostic categories that psychiatrists use. Especially when it comes to personality disorders.

Answer 3

i could get the answer from my doctor, in a few days. i dont know if theres a percentage figure, but concurrence is quite common.

Answer 4

Here's the difference:
BI-POLAR MOOD SWINGS ARE LONGER-LASTING.
BORDERLINE MOOD SWINGS ARE CHARACTERIZED AS BEING TARNSIENT AND ASSOCIATED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CUES, SUCH AS FEAR OF IMPENDING ABANDONMENT OR BEING LEFT ALONE TO LONG
THEREfore, it is EXTREMELY difficult to distinguish the two, but the difference is quite important.

Answer 5

well when you are bipolar you have more ups and very low do wens and your mood swings Chang more often and you get more careless with your life i only say this because i am bipolar with major mood disordes.