Demographic and clinical variables in a cohort of patients with borderline personality disorder (n=108) from an ongoing randomized outcome study - 'The Risskov-I-Study' - at The Clinic for Personality Disorders, Aarhus University Hospital, Risskov, Denmark are presented and compared with those from patients included in eleven previously published randomized outcome studies focusing exclusively on borderline patients. In these eleven studies the average drop-out rate among patients with intention to treat is 38%, which to some extent compromises the validity of the outcome data presented and calls for measures to reduce drop-out from borderline treatments. The level of disturbance in the Risskov-I population is comparable with that found in most of the existing outcome studies and confirms the general impression that borderline patients as a group tend to have low levels of functioning in several areas, including social functioning and underachievement in terms of education, employment etc. Problems relating to the group of patients included in existing studies and to difficulties in comparing patient characteristics and treatment outcome across studies are discussed.
