Autistic traits + borderline personality disorder traits = enhanced risk of suicide ideation?

Following some quite recent discussions on this blog about how autism-related dimensions are not necessarily always autism-specific dimensions (see here) in the context of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), I'm talking today about the findings reported by Henri Chabrol & Patrick Raynal [1].

They detail some still emerging evidence that, alongside "significant comorbidity between ASD [autism spectrum disorder] and BPD", there could be some rather important outcomes arising from possessing both significant autistic traits and borderline personality disorder traits in the more general population when it comes to risk of suicide ideation. Further, that such data could also cast some light on that important issue for both clinical conditions and contribute to the pressing need to reduce any excess risk(s).

I've covered the issue of suicide - ideation, attempted and completion - on this blog a few times (see here). It's a topic that requires careful handling (see here) and something that, in respect of the core blogging material here, requires important continued attention (see here and see here).

Chabrol & Raynal detail results following the self-report of several parameters: autistic and BPD traits, thoughts of suicide and "depressive symptomatology" in a cohort of college students (N=474). They reported that, whilst BPD traits and autistic traits were only "weakly correlated", those participants who presented with both high BPD and high autistic traits (approaching 20% of their total sample) were the ones who expressed "the highest level of suicidal ideation."

Bearing in mind that this was research carried out with a 'non-clinical' population and a population that might not be necessarily completely representative of everyone else, additional investigations are warranted. Whether for example, the clinical combination of autism and BPD might elevate the risk of suicide ideation or beyond is one issue to be explored, particularly given research observing that suicide risk is not unknown to the diagnosis of BPD. I might also add that given the possibility of even greater complexity in behavioural/psychiatric presentation [2] coinciding with other observations in relation to some autism (see here), quite a wide research view might need to be taken. This coinciding with more and more evidence to suggest that autism is not typically a stand-alone diagnosis (see here).

And if anyone needs to talk to someone, organisations like the Samaritans are only an email or phone call away...

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[1] Chabrol H. & Raynal P. The co-occurrence of autistic traits and borderline personality disorder traits is associated to increased suicidal ideation in nonclinical young adults. Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2018. Feb 15.

[2] Fan AH. & Hassell J. Bipolar disorder and comorbid personality psychopathology: a review of the literature. J Clin Psychiatry. 2008 Nov;69(11):1794-803.

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