Background Knowledge of the prevalence and correlates of personality disorders in the community is important for identifying treatment needs and for provision of psychiatric services. Aims To estimate the prevalence of personality disorders in a community sample and to identify demographic subgroups with especially high prevalence. Method Clinical psychologists used the International Personality Disorder Examination to assess DSM-IV and ICD-10 personality disorders in a sample of 742 subjects, ages 34–94 years, residing in Baltimore, Maryland. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between demographic characteristics and DSM - IV personality disorder clusters. Results The estimated overall prevalence of DSM - IV personality disorders was 9%. Cluster A disorders were most prevalent in men who had never married. Cluster B disorders were most prevalent in young men without a high school degree, and cluster C disorders in high school graduates who had never married. Conclusions Approximately 9% of this community sample has a DSM-IV personality disorder. Personality disorders are over-represented in certain demographic subgroups of the community

We studied the medical comorbidity among individuals with serious mental illness who were receiving community-based psychiatric treatment. A total of 200 psychiatric outpatients divided between those with schizophrenia and affective disorder diagnoses were recruited from samples receiving outpatient care at two psychiatric centers. Interviews used questions from national health surveys. Logistic regression analyses compared responses from each sample with those of matched subsets of individuals from the general population. Both patient groups had greater odds of having many medical conditions. The odds of respiratory illnesses remained elevated in the patient groups even after controlling for smoking, as did the odds of diabetes in the affective disorder group after controlling for weight. Persons with serious mental illness who are in outpatient care are more likely to have comorbid medical conditions than persons in the general population. The odds of diabetes, lung diseases, and liver problems are particularly elevated. These findings underscore the need for intensified preventive health interventions and medical services for this population.

Although physical inactivity is a leading cause of death and the Surgeon General recommends regular moderate physical activity, many Americans are inactive. Because of their increased burden of obesity and diabetes, people with severe mental illness (SMI) especially may benefit from physical activity, yet little is known about the prevalence and types of physical activity in people with SMI. We surveyed outpatients with schizophrenia and affective disorders at two psychiatric centers in Maryland and compared physical activity patterns to an age-gender-race-matched national sample (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III) of the general population. We found that people with SMI are overall less physically active than the general population, although the proportion with recommended physical activity levels was equal. The participants with SMI were more likely to walk as their sole form of physical activity. Within the SMI group, those without regular social contact and women had higher odds of being inactive.

The BTSAS program is an efficacious treatment. Further work needs to be done to increase the proportion of eligible patients who are able to become engaged in treatment.

Results suggest that internalized stigma was prevalent and problematic among individuals with serious mental illness. There may be multiple pathways through which stigma and discrimination lead to negative outcomes, suggesting that interventions to reduce internalized stigma need to target multiple points along these pathways in order to be effective.

Obesity is more prevalent among individuals with serious mental illness than in demographically matched individuals from the US general population. Among persons with mental illness, obesity is associated with co-occurring health problems.

Living Well shows promise in helping mental health consumers more effectively manage chronic general medical conditions and experience improved functioning and well-being.

This study provides evidence that FFEP is helpful to relatives of persons with SMI by reducing subjective burden and worry, and increasing empowerment, knowledge about SMI, understanding the mental health system, and self-care.