Personality trait dimensions and the pharmacological treatment of borderline personality disorder
Abstract
The number of well-designed placebo-controlled studies on pharmacological treatment of borderline personality disorder has been small. We present a breakdown of results of placebo-controlled pharmacological studies, sorting target symptoms into the trait dimensions of affective instability, anxiety inhibition, cognitive-perceptual disturbances, and impulsivity-aggression. Twenty randomized placebo-controlled pharmacological trials studying typical and atypical antipsychotics, selective serotonin reuptake and monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and benzodiazepines were included. A relative measure of the weight of an outcome was determined by (1) dividing the number of positive comparisons for a drug class by the total number of comparisons of all drugs of all classes for each dimension and (2) dividing the number of positive comparisons for a drug class by the total number of comparisons for that particular drug class for that trait dimension. Antipsychotics (neuroleptics and atypicals) had the most evidence for each of the traits with both methods. Our results are compared with the results of 2 meta-analyses, 1 guideline set, and 1 other systematic review. We found little concordance across these studies. We propose a consortium to discuss guidelines for future studies, including agreement as to what should be measured to determine the outcome and adoption of standardized instruments to measure that outcome.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a systematic review, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Comparison of the Effects of Glucagon-Like Peptide Receptor Agonists and Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors for Prevention of Major Adverse Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cardiovascular Outcomes Trials
- Efficacy of personalized psychological interventions: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- Effects of Lifestyle Interventions That Include a Physical Activity Component in Class II and III Obese Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Blood pressure lowering and risk of new-onset type 2 diabetes: an individual participant data meta-analysis
- Topical treatments for atopic dermatitis (eczema): systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized trials
- Comparative efficacy and tolerability of pharmacological interventions for acute bipolar depression in adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.