Prenatal adversity: a risk factor in borderline personality disorder?

BackgroundPatients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) show a high prevalence of early adversity, such as childhood trauma. It has also been reported that prenatal adverse conditions, such as prenatal maternal stress, drug taking, tobacco smoking or medical complications, may be associated with an increased risk of mental disorders in the offspring. Prenatal adversity is investigated here for the first time as a potential risk factor in the diagnosis of BPD.MethodA total of 100 patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of BPD and 100 matched healthy controls underwent semi-structured interviews about the course of pregnancy, maternal stressors, birth complications and childhood trauma. Furthe…