Sex differences in the clinical characteristics and brain gray matter volume alterations in unmedicated patients with major depressive disorder

Abstract

This study was to explore the sex differences in clinical characteristics and brain gray matter volume (GMV) alterations in 29 male patients with major depressive disorder (MDDm), 53 female patients with MDD (MDDf), and in 29 male and 53 female matched healthy controls. Maps of GMV were constructed using magnetic resonance imaging data and compared between groups. We evaluated clinical symptoms using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and obtained a total score and five syndrome scores. A two-factor ANCOVA model was specified using SPM8, with sex and diagnosis as the between-subject factors. We found that: (1) significant GMV increase in the left cerebellum and GMV reduction in the bilateral middle temporal gyrus and left ventral medial prefrontal gyrus occurred selectively in male patients, while the GMV reduction in the left lingual gyrus and dorsal medial prefrontal gyrus occurred selectively in female patients; (2) MDDf may have experienced more severe sleep disturbance than MDDm; and (3) the severity of sleep symptom could be predicted by the sex specific brain structural alterations in depressions. These findings suggest that sex specific anatomical alterations existed in MDD, and these alterations were associated with the clinical symptoms.

Association between DNA Methylation Levels in Brain Tissue and Late-Life Depression in Community-Based Participants

“…We found stronger associations between brain-tissue based methylation levels and latelife MDD in men than in women. This finding is in line with previous studies showing sexspecific differences in serum biomarkers, mRNA expression, and brain activity of MDD cases, demonstrating that sex plays an important role in the molecular heterogeneity of MDD [41][42][43] .…”

Social support and clinical improvement in COVID-19 positive patients in China

“…Gender differences in depression have been widely reported in prior studies with twice the number of women diagnosed with depression than men ( Seedat et al., 2009 ). Interestingly, previous findings have also shown that women with depression suffered more sleep disturbance ( Yang et al., 2017 ). Association between clinical symptoms and severity of pneumonia is not entirely surprising, as it is commonly believed that poor physical situation are usually associated with psychological problems and worse outcomes ( Henderson & Moran, 1983 ).…”

Multimodal fusion of structural and functional brain imaging in depression using linked independent component analysis

“…Although there have been some early reports of a sex‐by‐group interaction in hippocampal volumes (e.g., Frodl et al, ), the recent large‐scale ENIGMA MDD study reported no sex‐by‐group interactions in any subcortical volumes (Schmaal et al, ). Another recent study identified sex‐by‐group interactions using VBM, including higher GMD in the left cerebellum of male patients only, and lower GMD in the dorsal medial prefrontal gyrus in female patients only (Yang et al, ). However, the sample size was relatively small (less than 100 in the patient and control group each) which may affect the reproducibility of these findings.…”