About 5.6 percent of U.S. adults meet criteria for borderline personality disorder over their lifetime. Among those diagnosed, 70 percent report at least one suicide attempt. The attempt rate reaches roughly 50 times the level recorded in the general population.
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
BPD affects about 5.6% of people, with high rates of PTSD, self harm, suicide attempts, and major health and life impacts.
Related reading
01 · Category
Prevalence1 stats
01
5.6% of U.S. adults meet criteria for BPD at some point in their lifetime (World Mental Health Survey-derived estimate)
Interpretation
Prevalence Interpretation
For the prevalence of Borderline Personality Disorder, about 5.6% of U.S. adults meet criteria at some point in their lifetime, underscoring that BPD affects a meaningful minority over the course of life.
02 · Category
Co Occurrence3 stats
01
47.0% of people with BPD have a lifetime history of PTSD
02
43% of individuals with BPD have comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a meta-analysis
03
11% of people with BPD have comorbid eating disorders
Interpretation
Co Occurrence Interpretation
Under the co occurrence lens, BPD commonly overlaps with trauma and related conditions, with 43% to 47% of people with BPD also having lifetime or comorbid PTSD, and about 11% also experiencing eating disorders.
03 · Category
Outcomes & Mortality7 stats
01
1 in 4 people with BPD has a lifetime history of self-harm requiring medical attention
02
BPD is associated with suicide attempts: 70% of patients have at least one attempt
03
BPD patients attempt suicide at a rate about 50 times higher than the general population (meta-analytic estimate)
04
BPD patients are hospitalized 2.5 times more frequently than patients with other psychiatric disorders in one large clinical study
05
BPD is linked to an average 13.6-year reduction in life expectancy in a population-based cohort study
06
Approximately 75% of people with BPD self-injure (meta-analytic estimate)
07
In a national survey, 1.6% of respondents reported experiencing severe mental illness; among those, BPD was among the serious conditions assessed
Interpretation
Outcomes & Mortality Interpretation
The outcomes picture for BPD is stark, with suicide attempts reported by about 70% of patients and life expectancy reduced by an average of 13.6 years, underscoring that BPD carries major mortality and hospitalization risk rather than being only a symptom-level diagnosis.
04 · 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)
02
DBT reduces suicidal behavior in BPD in randomized controlled trials (positive effects summarized in a meta-analysis)
03
MBT led to reduced risk of suicide-related behaviors compared with general psychiatric management in a randomized trial
04
TFP showed improved overall psychosocial functioning compared with structured clinical management in a randomized trial
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)
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)
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 approaches
08
Atypical antipsychotics reduce symptoms such as anger/hostility in some BPD patients compared with placebo in randomized trials (reported in an evidence review)
Interpretation
Treatments & Effectiveness Interpretation
Across randomized trials and meta-analyses, structured, disorder-focused treatments like DBT, MBT, and TFP show the most consistent benefits for core BPD outcomes, including significant reductions in self-harm and suicidal behavior and stronger overall symptom improvement than non-structured approaches.
05 · 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)
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 disorders
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)
04
Primary care and specialist outpatient service use is substantially higher among people with personality disorders than controls in Swedish registry data (BPD subset)
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)
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 analysis
07
Outcomes such as employment impairment are significantly higher in BPD compared with controls (employment and functioning burden quantified in cohort studies)
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)
09
1 in 5 adolescents and young adults with BPD symptoms is reported in a population survey study (youth burden quantification)
10
Borderline personality disorder is estimated to affect roughly 1–2% of the general adult population (range summary quantified in epidemiologic review)
Interpretation
Economic & System Impact Interpretation
Across economic and system impact, people with borderline personality disorder and related personality disorders are linked to markedly higher healthcare use and costs, including up to 4.5 times greater health care spending than those without mental disorders in the United States and substantially elevated inpatient, outpatient, and emergency use in multiple studies, with prevalence estimates of about 1 to 2% of adults suggesting a large population level burden on health and social systems.
More related reading
06 · Category
Prevalence & Incidence4 stats
01
2.7% of adults in the U.S. reported 12-month DSM-IV BPD in NESARC (2001–2003)
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 study
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)
04
36.2% of people with BPD in a Swedish national register study had at least one inpatient psychiatric hospitalization during follow-up
Interpretation
Prevalence & Incidence Interpretation
For the prevalence and incidence angle, BPD appears relatively uncommon in the general U.S. adult population at 2.7% over 12 months, yet among those with BPD a large share experience frequent high-acuity care and severe outcomes, including 13.8% with an emergency department visit and 18.6% reporting a lifetime suicide attempt.
07 · Category
Comorbidity & Risk2 stats
01
17.9% of adults with BPD had a substance use disorder diagnosis in a U.S. claims-based study
02
27.2% of patients with BPD had comorbid bipolar disorder (pooled estimate reported in a meta-analysis)
Interpretation
Comorbidity & Risk Interpretation
In the comorbidity and risk space, about 17.9% of U.S. adults with BPD also carry a substance use disorder diagnosis, and 27.2% have comorbid bipolar disorder, underscoring that BPD frequently coexists with other high risk mental health conditions.
08 · Category
Economic & Healthcare Use2 stats
01
$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)
02
Patients with BPD incurred $14,000more in annual health care expenditures than matched controls in a U.S. claims analysis
Interpretation
Economic & Healthcare Use Interpretation
From an Economic and Healthcare Use perspective, people with BPD are associated with about $14,000 higher annual health care expenditures than matched controls, on top of the broader $67,000 average yearly health care costs for severe mental illness patients in the U.S. in 2013.
09 · Category
Treatment Outcomes2 stats
01
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-analysis
02
TFP: 30% of participants showed clinically significant improvement in psychosocial functioning at end of treatment in a randomized trial (proportion with improvement)
Interpretation
Treatment Outcomes Interpretation
Across treatment outcomes, structured community-based psychotherapy programs reduced BPD symptom severity by a pooled standardized mean difference of -0.60 versus controls, and in a randomized trial 30% of participants receiving TFP showed clinically significant improvement in psychosocial functioning by the end of treatment.
report visual · Comparison
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): Key Lifetime Burden & Outcomes
Selected statistics highlight BPD prevalence in adults and major associated impacts, including self-harm, suicide attempts, and psychiatric comorbidity.
Suicide attempts: % of patients with at least one attempt70%
Comorbidity: PTSD in individuals with BPD (meta-analysis)43%
Lifetime prevalence: % of U.S. adults meeting BPD criteria5.6%
Lifetime self-harm requiring medical attention (1 in 4)4
12-month prevalence (DSM-IV): % of U.S. adults2.7%
source-verifiedjamanetwork.com · ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov2001
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 · attribution is report-level
+33 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)