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. 2017 Feb 15;17(1):71.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-017-1233-2.

Early life adversity is associated with a smaller hippocampus in male but not female depressed in-patients: a case-control study

Romain Colle  1   2   3 , Tomoyuki Segawa  4   5   6 , Marie Chupin  7   8   9   10   11   12 , Minh Ngoc Thien Kim Tran Dong  13   14 , Patrick Hardy  4   5   6 , Bruno Falissard  15 , Olivier Colliot  7   8   9   10   11   12 , Denis Ducreux  13   14 , Emmanuelle Corruble  4   5   6
Affiliations

Early life adversity is associated with a smaller hippocampus in male but not female depressed in-patients: a case-control study

Romain Colle et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Three studies assessed the association of early life adversity (ELA) and hippocampal volumes in depressed patients, of which one was negative and the two others did not control for several potential confounding variables. Since the association of ELA and hippocampal volumes differ in male and female healthy volunteers, we investigated the association of ELA and hippocampal volumes in depressed patients, while focusing specifically on sex and controlling for several relevant socio-demographic and clinical variables.

Methods: Sixty-three depressed in-patients treated in a psychiatric setting, with a current Major Depressive Episode (MDE) and a Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) were included and assessed for ELA. Hippocampal volumes were measured with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and automatic segmentation. They were compared between patients with (n = 28) or without (n = 35) ELA. After bivariate analyses, multivariate regression analyses tested the interaction of sex and ELA on hippocampal volume and were adjusted for several potential confounding variables. The subgroups of men (n = 26) and women (n = 37) were assessed separately.

Results: Patients with ELA had a smaller hippocampus than those without ELA (4.65 (±1.11) cm3 versus 5.25 (±1.01) cm3), bivariate: p = 0.03, multivariate: HR = 0.40, 95%CI [0.23;0.71], p = 0.002), independently from other factors. This association was found in men (4.43 (±1.22) versus 5.67 (±0.77) cm3), bivariate: p = 0.006, multivariate HR = 0.23, 95%CI [0.06;0.82], p = 0.03) but not in women.

Conclusion: ELA is associated with a smaller hippocampus in male but not female depressed in-patients. The reasons for this association should be investigated in further studies.

Keywords: Automated segmentation; Early life adversity; Hippocampal volume; MRI; Major depressive disorder; Major depressive episode; Sex.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Early life adversity and hippocampal volumes. Hippocampal volumes: m (sem) (cm3); ELA+: Patients with early life adversity; ELA-: Patients without early life adversity; p: p value controlled for sex, age, brain volumes, MRI acquisition method, age at onset of MDD, history of suicide attempts, previous antidepressant medication and HDRS
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Early life adversity and total hippocampal volumes in men and women. Hippocampal volumes: m (sem) (cm3); ELA+: Patients with early life adversity; ELA−: Patients without early life adversity; p: p value adjusted for age, brain volumes, MRI acquisition method, age at onset of MDD, history of suicide attempts, previous antidepressant medication and HDRS score
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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