About 5.6% of U.S. adults meet criteria for borderline personality disorder at some point in their lives, based on the World Mental Health Survey. Many people also live with related conditions like PTSD and eating disorders, and this overlap can shape how often they need urgent care or inpatient treatment. This guide also reviews evidence-based therapies—including DBT, MBT, and TFP—and explains how they may reduce self-harm and suicide-related behaviors.
Key Takeaways
- 5.6% of U.S. adults meet criteria for BPD at some point in their lifetime (World Mental Health Survey-derived estimate)
- 47.0% of people with BPD have a lifetime history of PTSD
- 43% of individuals with BPD have comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a meta-analysis
- 11% of people with BPD have comorbid eating disorders
- 1 in 4 people with BPD has a lifetime history of self-harm requiring medical attention
- BPD is associated with suicide attempts: 70% of patients have at least one attempt
- BPD patients attempt suicide at a rate about 50 times higher than the general population (meta-analytic estimate)
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) reduces the frequency of self-harm acts relative to comparison conditions in randomized trials (effect reported as significant in a systematic review)
- DBT reduces suicidal behavior in BPD in randomized controlled trials (positive effects summarized in a meta-analysis)
- MBT led to reduced risk of suicide-related behaviors compared with general psychiatric management in a randomized trial
- People with mental disorders had 4.5x higher health care spending than those without mental disorders in a U.S. analysis (resource utilization context for severe conditions like BPD)
- In a U.K. cohort, adults with personality disorder had markedly higher health and social care costs than the general population; BPD is a major subset of personality disorders
- Inpatient costs for personality disorder cohorts were several-fold higher than comparators in a U.K. cost analysis (includes BPD within the diagnostic spectrum)
- 2.7% of adults in the U.S. reported 12-month DSM-IV BPD in NESARC (2001–2003)
- 13.8% of patients with BPD had at least one emergency department (ED) visit in a 12-month follow-up period in a U.S. claims study
About 5.6% of Americans develop BPD over their lifetime, with high rates of PTSD, self harm, and suicide attempts.
Related reading
01 · Category
Economic & System Impact10 stats
01
People with mental disorders had 4.5x higher health care spending than those without mental disorders in a U.S. analysis (resource utilization context for severe conditions like BPD)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3861118/
02
In a U.K. cohort, adults with personality disorder had markedly higher health and social care costs than the general population; BPD is a major subset of personality disordershttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4729193/
03
Inpatient costs for personality disorder cohorts were several-fold higher than comparators in a U.K. cost analysis (includes BPD within the diagnostic spectrum)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23257774/
04
Primary care and specialist outpatient service use is substantially higher among people with personality disorders than controls in Swedish registry data (BPD subset)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25087358/
05
Emergency department (ED) visits are more frequent among adults with BPD than among matched controls in health claims data studies (higher utilization reported as significant)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24667463/
06
Patients with BPD show higher rates of service utilization (including outpatient and inpatient care) than patients with other mental disorders in a large U.S. claims analysishttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25780903/
07
Outcomes such as employment impairment are significantly higher in BPD compared with controls (employment and functioning burden quantified in cohort studies)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16401701/
08
Family caregivers of people with BPD report higher caregiver burden scores than caregivers of people without BPD in a comparative study (quantified differences reported)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24356708/
09
1 in 5 adolescents and young adults with BPD symptoms is reported in a population survey study (youth burden quantification)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21640939/
10
Borderline personality disorder is estimated to affect roughly 1–2% of the general adult population (range summary quantified in epidemiologic review)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25276018/
Interpretation
Economic & System Impact Interpretation
Across multiple health systems, people with borderline personality disorder and related personality disorders consistently drive substantially higher utilization and costs, including U.S. spending that is 4.5 times higher than for those without mental disorders and U.K. inpatient and social care costs that are several-fold higher than comparators.
02 · Category
Treatments & Effectiveness8 stats
01
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) reduces the frequency of self-harm acts relative to comparison conditions in randomized trials (effect reported as significant in a systematic review)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16473285/
02
DBT reduces suicidal behavior in BPD in randomized controlled trials (positive effects summarized in a meta-analysis)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24902834/
03
MBT led to reduced risk of suicide-related behaviors compared with general psychiatric management in a randomized trialhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25616661/
04
TFP showed improved overall psychosocial functioning compared with structured clinical management in a randomized trialhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20856063/
05
General psychiatric management (GPM) is less effective than DBT for some outcomes in systematic reviews of BPD psychotherapies (comparative findings summarized as statistically significant)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28771995/
06
Hospitalization length of stay was reduced by structured BPD psychotherapy programs compared with treatment as usual in a controlled study (reported as statistically significant)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28306070/
07
In a network meta-analysis, structured psychotherapies (including DBT, MBT, TFP, and others) had the strongest evidence for reducing BPD symptoms compared with non-structured approacheshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31050354/
08
Atypical antipsychotics reduce symptoms such as anger/hostility in some BPD patients compared with placebo in randomized trials (reported in an evidence review)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27705732/
Interpretation
Treatments & Effectiveness Interpretation
Across randomized trials, targeted structured psychotherapies such as DBT, MBT, and TFP show clear benefits over comparison or general management, including reduced self-harm and suicidal behavior and even shorter hospital stays, highlighting that effective BPD treatment outcomes are achievable when the therapy is specifically designed and systematically delivered.
03 · Category
Outcomes & Mortality7 stats
01
1 in 4 people with BPD has a lifetime history of self-harm requiring medical attentionhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK158989/
02
BPD is associated with suicide attempts: 70% of patients have at least one attempthttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21399428/
03
BPD patients attempt suicide at a rate about 50 times higher than the general population (meta-analytic estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23887821/
04
BPD patients are hospitalized 2.5 times more frequently than patients with other psychiatric disorders in one large clinical studyhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25219472/
05
BPD is linked to an average 13.6-year reduction in life expectancy in a population-based cohort studyhttps://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2800737
06
Approximately 75% of people with BPD self-injure (meta-analytic estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23624954/
07
In a national survey, 1.6% of respondents reported experiencing severe mental illness; among those, BPD was among the serious conditions assessedhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3683670/
Interpretation
Outcomes & Mortality Interpretation
From an outcomes and mortality perspective, BPD is strongly associated with severe self-harm and early death, including a 1 in 4 lifetime history of medically treated self-harm, suicide attempt rates reaching about 70 percent with attempts around 50 times higher than the general population, and an average 13.6 year reduction in life expectancy.
More related reading
04 · Category
Prevalence & Incidence4 stats
01
2.7% of adults in the U.S. reported 12-month DSM-IV BPD in NESARC (2001–2003)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/1106720
02
13.8% of patients with BPD had at least one emergency department (ED) visit in a 12-month follow-up period in a U.S. claims studyhttps://www.ajmc.com/view/emergency-department-utilization-and-mental-health-diagnoses
03
18.6% of U.S. adults meeting DSM-5 criteria for BPD reported having at least one suicide attempt in their lifetime (NESARC-IV analysis)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6002368/
04
36.2% of people with BPD in a Swedish national register study had at least one inpatient psychiatric hospitalization during follow-uphttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08039488.2019.1652479
Interpretation
Prevalence & Incidence Interpretation
In terms of prevalence and healthcare incidence, borderline personality disorder affects about 2.7% of US adults over a 12-month period while a large share of those with the diagnosis show high service use and severe outcomes, including 13.8% with at least one emergency department visit and 36.2% experiencing inpatient psychiatric hospitalization in follow-up.
06 · Category
Overview10 stats
01
47.0% of people with BPD have a lifetime history of PTSDhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4280616/
02
43% of individuals with BPD have comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a meta-analysishttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27925163/
03
11% of people with BPD have comorbid eating disordershttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25438994/
04
17.9% of adults with BPD had a substance use disorder diagnosis in a U.S. claims-based studyhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178119312231
05
27.2% of patients with BPD had comorbid bipolar disorder (pooled estimate reported in a meta-analysis)https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jts.22401
06
$67,000average annual total health care cost per patient with severe mental illness in the U.S. in 2013 (contextual cost magnitude relevant to BPD-treated populations)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4275102/
07
Patients with BPD incurred $14,000more in annual health care expenditures than matched controls in a U.S. claims analysishttps://www.psychiatrist.com/jcp/borderline-personality-disorder-and-health-care-utilization-a-matched-cohort-study/
08
Structured psychotherapy programs delivered in community settings reduced BPD symptom severity with a pooled standardized mean difference of -0.60 compared with control conditions in a meta-analysishttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178120304218
09
TFP: 30% of participants showed clinically significant improvement in psychosocial functioning at end of treatment in a randomized trial (proportion with improvement)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178105003262
10
5.6% of U.S. adults meet criteria for BPD at some point in their lifetime (World Mental Health Survey-derived estimate)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2086419
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
From an industry overview perspective, the high overlap of BPD with other costly and complex conditions is striking, with 47.0% having a lifetime history of PTSD and 17.9% having a substance use disorder, while pooled estimates show comorbid bipolar disorder at 27.2%, reinforcing why treatment demand and healthcare spending remain substantial as reflected in U.S. severe mental illness costs of about $67,000 per patient annually in 2013.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Nathan Caldwell. (2026, February 13). Borderline Personality Disorder Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/borderline-personality-disorder-statistics
MLA
Nathan Caldwell. "Borderline Personality Disorder Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/borderline-personality-disorder-statistics.
Chicago
Nathan Caldwell. 2026. "Borderline Personality Disorder Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/borderline-personality-disorder-statistics.
Sources & references
43 datasets cited across this report
+33 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)