Hippocampal Atrophy and Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in Older Men and Women: Results From a 10-Year Prospective Cohort
American Journal of Epidemiology. 2014-08-01; 180(4): 385-393
DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwu132
Read on PubMed
1. Am J Epidemiol. 2014 Aug 15;180(4):385-93. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwu132. Epub 2014 Aug
1.
Hippocampal atrophy and subsequent depressive symptoms in older men and women:
results from a 10-year prospective cohort.
Elbejjani M, Fuhrer R, Abrahamowicz M, Mazoyer B, Crivello F, Tzourio C, Dufouil
C.
Several studies have reported smaller hippocampal volume in patients with
depression. However, the temporality of the association is undetermined. One
hypothesis is that hippocampal atrophy might be a susceptibility factor for
depression. In the present study, we assessed whether hippocampal atrophy was
associated with subsequent depressive symptoms in a cohort of older French adults
(n = 1,309) who were 65-80 years of age and enrolled into the study in 1999-2001
in Dijon, France. Subjects were followed for more than 10 years. Participants
underwent 2 cerebral magnetic resonance imaging scans, one at baseline and one at
the 4-year follow-up. We used linear mixed models to estimate the associations of
hippocampal atrophy with 1) the average depressive symptom scores over follow-up
(using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale) measured biennially
over the subsequent 6 years and 2) changes in symptom scores over follow-up. In
women, a 2-standard-deviation increase in annual hippocampal atrophy was
associated with a 1.67-point (95% confidence interval: 0.59, 2.77) increase in
the average depressive symptom score over follow-up and with a 1.97-point (95%
confidence interval: 0.68, 3.24) increase in scores over the 2 subsequent years
but not with later changes in symptoms. No association was detected in men.
Accounting for potential selective attrition (using inverse probability weights)
did not alter results. Hippocampal atrophy was associated with more subsequent
depressive symptoms and with shorter-term worsening of symptoms in women.
© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions,
please e-mail: .
DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwu132
PMCID: PMC4128769
PMID: 25086051 [Indexed for MEDLINE]