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Sex differences in brain structure in geriatric depression.

Helen Lavretsky·Kristina Kurbanyan·Martina Ballmaier·Jim Mintz·Arthur Toga·Anand Kumar
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: In an exploratory study, authors compared patients with late-life major depression (MDD) and age-matched control subjects to examine sex differences in frontal and orbito-frontal (OFC) regional brain volumes. METHODS: The study sample comprised 41 patients with MDD and 41 controls. Subjects underwent comprehensive neuropsychiatric examinations and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Corrected frontal and OFC gray-matter volumes were compared among men and women in both groups. RESULTS: The depression group had lower MMSE scores, greater severity of medical burden, apathy, psychomotor retardation, and poor health-related quality of life than the controls. Men in both groups had a greater severity of medical burden, apathy, and psychomotor retardation than women. The depression group had smaller OFC total and gray-matter volumes than the controls after matching for age. Men had smaller frontal-matter volumes than women in both groups. The diagnosis x sex interaction in brain regional volumes was observed only after controlling for medical burden. CONCLUSIONS: Sex differences in brain neuroanatomy may be important in the pathophysiology of geriatric depression. Men may be susceptible to atrophy in frontal subregions. Medical burden may contribute to the diagnosis x sex interaction in brain regional volumes.

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AgedAtrophyMajor Depressive DisorderDisability EvaluationFemaleFrontal LobeHumansImage Processing, Computer-AssistedMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMathematical ComputingMental Status ScheduleMiddle AgedPrefrontal CortexReference ValuesSex CharacteristicsJournal ArticleResearch Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

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Helen Lavretsky, Kristina Kurbanyan, Martina Ballmaier, Jim Mintz, Arthur Toga, Anand Kumar. Sex differences in brain structure in geriatric depression.. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajgp.12.6.653

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