EPA-0500 – Personality Change Due to a General Medical Conditions: Clinical Manifestations and Social Consequences

Abstract

Background:

The prevalence of personality disturbances associated with some common somatic conditions are gradually increasing in Russian population and might be accompanied by the high level of negative consequences. On the other hand, it is still unclear the common manifestations of this disorder.

Aim:

To describe the essential features of personality disorder due to a general medical condition and to define common negative consequences.

Methods:

We have sorted out of 87 inpatients with the diagnosis of ‘Personality Change Due to a General Medical Conditions’ according to the DSM-IV criteria.

Results:

The clinical manifestations can be combined into four subtypes: 1) labile type (50,3%) where such features as affective lability, impulsivity, parasuicide and tend to self-inflicted injury predominate; 2) dysphoric type (32,7%) that is characterized by dysphoria, vindictiveness and negative emotions; 3) antisocial type (12%) with manipulations, repetitive lie and aggressive behavior as the essential features; 4) asthenic type (4%), if the predominant features are indecisiveness, tiredness and fear of abandonment. Social consequences included stealing (38%), death threat (10%), storage of drug (10%) as well as infliction of mild bodily (9%) and more likely to be associated with disphoric and antisocial subtypes.

Discussion:

Despite of some differences, three subtypes (labile, disphoric, antisocial) have a lot of overlapping features. Appears that dimensional approach to personality change due to a general Medical Condition with focus on level of severity and specific dimensions (affective lability, disphoria, aggressiveness, indecisiveness, negative consequences, ect.) rather than identification of contradictory personality subtypes is closer to the clinical reality.