Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009 Jan;34(1):41-54.

A meta-analysis examining clinical predictors of hippocampal volume in patients with major depressive disorder

Margaret C McKinnon  1 , Kaan Yucel, Anthony Nazarov, Glenda M MacQueen
Affiliations
Review

A meta-analysis examining clinical predictors of hippocampal volume in patients with major depressive disorder

Margaret C McKinnon et al. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2009 Jan.

Abstract
in English, French

Background: Some, although not all, studies report small hippocampal volume in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) relative to healthy controls. Here, we explore the contribution of key demographic and clinical variables to this difference.

Methods: We used meta-analytic techniques to provide an updated analysis of data from 32 magnetic resonance imaging studies of hippocampal volume in patients with MDD.

Results: Our analysis confirmed the difference in hippocampal volume, but only among patients with MDD whose duration of illness was longer than 2 years or who had more than 1 disease episode. We found no such effect in studies that included patients who did not fit these criteria. The effect was limited to children and middle-aged or older adults. Analyzed collectively, studies including young adult patients showed equivalent hippocampal volumes across MDD patients and controls, a result that may be attributable to a reduced burden of illness in this population. Age at onset of disease, severity of depression at the time of scanning, sex and slice thickness did not contribute to differences in hippocampal volume between patients with MDD and controls.

Limitations: The small size of many of the clinical and demographic subgroups may have limited statistical power to detect between-group differences.

Conclusion: Although all studies were cross-sectional, our results suggest that hippocampal volume reductions generally occur after disease onset in patients with MDD. These findings have implications for the timing of clinical interventions aimed at reducing the impact of MDD on neuronal structure and function.

Contexte: Certaines études, mais pas toutes, signalent que le volume de l'hippocampe est plus petit chez les patients atteints de syndrome dépressif majeur (SDM) que chez les témoins en bonne santé. Nous explorons ici la contribution à cette différence de variables démographiques et cliniques clés.

Méthodes: Nous avons utilisé des techniques méta-analytiques pour effectuer une synthèse à jour des données de 32 études ayant mesuré le volume de l'hippocampe chez des patients atteints de SDM au moyen de l'imagerie par résonance magnétique.

Résultats: Notre analyse a confirmé la différence de volume de l'hippocampe, mais uniquement chez les patients qui souffraient de SDM depuis plus de 2 ans, ou qui avaient présenté plus d'un épisode de la maladie. Nous n'avons pas observé d'effets semblables dans les études qui incluaient des patients ne répondant pas à ces critères. L'effet a semblé se limiter aux enfants et aux adultes d'âge moyen ou plus avancé. Regroupées aux fins de l'analyse, les études incluant des patients adultes moins âgés ont fait état de volumes hippocampiques équivalents chez les patients souffrant de SDM et les témoins, un résultat potentiellement attribuable au fardeau moins lourd de la maladie chez cette population. Le sexe du patient, son âge lors du déclenchement de la maladie, la gravité de la dépression au moment de l'épreuve d'imagerie et l'épaisseur des coupes n'ont pas influé sur les différences de volume hippocampique entre les patients atteints de SDM et les témoins.

Limites: Le petit échantillon de plusieurs des sous-groupes cliniques et démographiques peut avoir réduit la puissance statistique et empêché la détection des différences entre les groupes.

Conclusion: Même s'il s'agissait dans tous les cas d'études transversales, nos résultats indiquent qu'une diminution du volume de l'hippocampe survient généralement après le déclenchement de la maladie chez les patients atteints de SDM. De telles observations ont une incidence sur le moment choisi pour intervenir cliniquement dans le but d'atténuer l'impact du SDM sur la structure et la fonction neuronales.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
Fig. 1. Standardized mean difference of left hippocampal volumes in patients with major depressive disorder and matched controls. Positive values indicate a nonsignificant difference between groups. CI = confidence interval; EOD = early-onset depression; FE = first episode; LOD = late-onset depression; ME = multiple episode; RE = repeat episode.
None
Fig. 2. Standardized mean difference of right hippocampal volumes in patients with major depressive disorder and matched controls. Positive values indicate a nonsignificant difference between groups. CI = confidence interval; EOD = early-onset depression; FE = first episode; LOD = late-onset depression; ME = multiple episode; RE = repeat episode.
None
Fig. 3. Standardized mean difference of left and right hippocampal volumes in i) patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) younger than 18 years of age and matched controls; ii) patients with a first episode of MDD and matched controls and iii) patients with a duration of MDD ≤ 2.5 years and matched controls. Positive values indicate a nonsignificant difference between groups. CI = confidence interval; FE = first episode; LOD = late-onset depression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Thomas RM, Hotsenpiller G, Peterson DA. Acute psychosocial stress reduces cell survival in adult hippocampal neurogenesis without altering proliferation. J Neurosci 2007;27:2734-43. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kessler RC. The effects of stressful life events on depression. Annu Rev Psychol 1997;48:191-214. - PubMed
    1. Malberg JE, Duman RS. Cell proliferation in adult hippocampus is decreased by inescapable stress: reversal by fluoxetine treatment. Neuropsychopharmacology 2003;28:1562-71. - PubMed
    1. Pham K, Nacher J, Hof PR, et al. Repeated restraint stress suppresses neurogenesis and induces biphasic PSA-NCAM expression in the adult rat dentate gyrus. Eur J Neurosci 2003;17:879-86. - PubMed
    1. Vermetten E, Bremner JD. Circuits and systems in stress. I. Preclinical studies. Depress Anxiety 2002;15:126-47. - PubMed