Predisposition for borderline personality disorder with comorbid major depression is associated with that for polycystic ovary syndrome in female Japanese population

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common lifestyle-related endocrinopathy in women of reproductive age and is associated with several mental health problems. We examined the genotypic distributions of IRS-1 Gly972Arg and CYP11B2 -344T/C, which were previously described as influencing PCOS, and assayed the serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF α), in a set of female patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) with comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) (n =50) and age-matched control subjects (n =100), to investigate the predisposition for BPD with MDD. The results showed that the patients were more frequently IRS-1 972Arg variant allele carriers (P =0.013; OR 6.68; 95% CI =1.30-34.43) and homozygous for the CYP11B2 -344C variant allele (P =0.022; OR =3.32; 95% CI =1.18-9.35) than the control subjects. The IL-6 level was significantly higher in the patients than in the controls (P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in the serum TNF- α level between patients with BPD with MDD and the healthy comparison group (P =0.5273). In conclusion, the predisposition for BPD with MDD is associated with that for PCOS, in the female Japanese population. An elevated serum IL-6 level is considered to be a possible biomarker of BPD with MDD. © 2011 Kawamura et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd.