Dependent personality disorder. Age, sex, and axis I comorbidity.

In the present report, we analyzed the age, sex, and axis I comorbidity of a large sample of patients with dependent personality disorder, and compared the findings with those obtained in patients with other personality disorders. The sample consisted of 3640 consecutive hospital admissions with a DSM-III axis II diagnosis. Of the 342 patients with a dependent diagnosis, 51.2% were over 40 years of age, compared with only 25.7% of the remaining patients with a personality disorder. The dependent sample was 69.6% female compared with 58.6% of those with other types of personality disorders. In general, dependent patients were more likely to have major depression and bipolar disorder than those with other personality disorders. Dysthymia and anxiety disorders occurred no more often than they did in the other personality disorders, as a whole. The rate of alcohol use disorders was lower than that observed in any other personality disorder except schizotypal. The rate of drug use disorders was intermediate between the lowest and highest rates in the other personality disorders.