BACKGROUND: Personality disorder frequently co-occurs with depression and seems to be associated with a poorer outcome of treatment and increased risk for recurrences. However, the diagnosing of personality disorder can be lengthy and requires some training. Therefore, a brief screening interview for comorbid personality disorder among patients suffering from depression would be of clinical use.

METHOD: The present study aimed to assess the utility of the Standardised Assessment of Personality - Abbreviated Scale (SAPAS) as a screen for personality disorder in a population of patients recently diagnosed with first episode depression. A total number of 394 patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis of a single depressive episode were sampled consecutively via the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register during a 2years inclusion period and assessed by the screening interview and, subsequently, by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders.

RESULTS: We found, that a cut-off of 3 on the screen correctly identified the presence of comorbid personality disorder in 73.1% of the patients. The sensitivity and specificity were 0.80 and 0.70, respectively.

LIMITATIONS: The findings cannot be generalized to patients outside hospital settings.

CONCLUSION: The study provides evidence for the clinical utility of SAPAS as a screening interview for comorbid personality disorder in a population of patients with a primary diagnosis of depression.