Heritability of borderline personality disorder features is similar across three countries

Abstract

Background. Most of our knowledge about borderline personality disorder features has been obtained through the study of clinical samples. Although these studies are important in their own right, they are limited in their ability to address certain important epidemiological and aetiological questions such as the degree to which there is a genetic influence on the manifestation of borderline personality disorder features. Though family history studies of borderline personality disorder indicate genetic influences, there have been very few twin studies and the degree of genetic influence on borderline personality disorder remains unclear.Method. Data were drawn from twin samples from The Netherlands (n=3918), Belgium (n=904) and Australia (n=674). In total, data were available on 5496 twins between the ages of 18 and 86 years from 3644 families who participated in the study by completion of a mailed self-report questionnaire on borderline personality disorder features.Results. In all countries, females scored higher than males and there was a general tendency for younger adults to endorse more borderline personality disorder features than older adults. Model-fitting results showed that additive genetic influences explain 42 % of the variation in borderline personality disorder features in both men and women and that this heritability estimate is similar across The Netherlands, Belgium and Australia. Unique environmental influences explain the remaining 58 % of the variance.Conclusions. Genetic factors play a role in individual differences in borderline personality disorder features in Western society.

Borderline Personality Traits and Substance Use: Genetic Factors Underlie the Association with Smoking and Ever Use of Cannabis, but Not with High Alcohol Consumption

“…Since earlier analyses showed that women have higher BPT scores than men (Distel et al, 2008), scores were adjusted for sex before the genetic analyses using linear regression. Figure 1 shows the bivariate genetic model.…”

“…The resemblance within and between relatives across BPT and the liability for substance use variables was also summarized with Pearson product-moment correlations. Since earlier analyses showed that women have higher BPT scores than men (Distel et al, 2008), scores were adjusted for sex before the genetic analyses using linear regression. Figure 1 shows the bivariate genetic model.…”

“…For BPD and related traits, large scale twin and twin family studies report heritability estimates around 40% for BPD and borderline personality traits (BPT; Bornovalova, Hicks, Iacono, & Mcgue, 2009;Distel et al, 2008;Distel et al, 2009;Kendler et al, 2008;Torgersen et al, 2008) and no evidence of environmental influences that are shared by family members.…”

“…Li, Cheng, Ma, and Swan (2003) conducted a meta-analysis for tobacco use and report a heritability estimate of 59%. A meta-analysis for cannabis initiation estimated the heritability to be 48% for males and 40% for females although the confidence intervals around these estimates for males and females overlapped (Verweij et al, 2010).For BPD and related traits, large scale twin and twin family studies report heritability estimates around 40% for BPD and borderline personality traits (BPT; Bornovalova, Hicks, Iacono, & Mcgue, 2009;Distel et al, 2008;Distel et al, 2009;Kendler et al, 2008;Torgersen et al, 2008) and no evidence of environmental influences that are shared by family members.First degree relatives of individuals with BPD have a significantly higher lifetime prevalence of substance use disorders (alcohol abuse/dependence, drug abuse/dependence, and any substance use disorder) than first degree relatives of individuals with other personality disorders such as histrionic, narcissistic, sadistic, and antisocial personality disorders (Zanarini, Barison, Frankenburg, Reich, & Hudson, 2009). This suggests that there are familial factors that increase the risk for BPD as well as substance use/abuse.…”

Borderline Personality or Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder? An Update on the Controversy

“…Research has demonstrated, however, that each of these factors interacts in multiple ways to shape the development and course of BPD. For example, some studies have reported that individuals with BPD are five times more likely than by chance alone to have a first-degree relative with BPD, 42 implicating the notion of heritability, and a recent twin study demonstrated that genetic influences explain 42% of the variance in BPD symptoms. 42 Other studies have also implicated a biological involvement.…”