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Gray matter characteristics associated with trait anxiety in older adults are moderated by depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2015

Olivier Potvin ,
Gwénaëlle Catheline ,
Charlotte Bernard ,
Céline Meillon ,
Valérie Bergua ,
Michèle Allard ,
Jean-François Dartigues ,
Nicolas Chauveau ,
Pierre Celsis  and
Hélène Amieva
Olivier Potvin
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U897, Bordeaux, France Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Québec, Canada
Gwénaëlle Catheline
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Intégrative et Adaptative EPHE INCIA UMR 5287 CNRS-Université Segalen Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France
Charlotte Bernard
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Intégrative et Adaptative EPHE INCIA UMR 5287 CNRS-Université Segalen Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France
Céline Meillon
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U897, Bordeaux, France
Valérie Bergua
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de psychologie EA 4139, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
Michèle Allard
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Intégrative et Adaptative EPHE INCIA UMR 5287 CNRS-Université Segalen Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France
Jean-François Dartigues
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U897, Bordeaux, France
Nicolas Chauveau
Affiliation:
UMR 825 Inserm, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
Pierre Celsis
Affiliation:
UMR 825 Inserm, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
Hélène Amieva*
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U897, Bordeaux, France
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Hélène Amieva, INSERM U897, Université Bordeaux Segalen, 146 Rue Léo Saignat, 33076, Bordeaux cedex, France. Phone: +33557571510. Email: Helene.Amieva@isped.u-bordeaux2.fr.
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Abstract

Background:

Structural gray matter characteristics of anxiety remain unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of current depressive symptoms and history of depression on the gray matter characteristics of trait anxiety.

Methods:

Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 393 individuals aged 65 years or older were used. Regions of interest (ROIs) included the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insula, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and temporal cortex. Trait anxiety was measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Depression and depressive symptoms were measured using DSM-IV criteria and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD).

Results:

After adjustments for sociodemographics and health-related variables, anxiety had a significant influence on the gray matter characteristics in all cortical ROIs. First, in participants without depression antecedents, higher trait anxiety was associated with a larger cortical thickness in all cortical ROIs. Second, in participants with a previous history of depression, higher trait anxiety was associated with a smaller cortical thickness in all cortical ROIs.

Conclusions:

These results suggest that anxiety is related to cortical thickness differently in healthy older adults and in older adults with psychiatric antecedents. Anxiety associated with thinner cortical areas could reflect symptoms of a specific type of depression or a vulnerability to develop depression.

Keywords

anxietydepressionneuroimagingelderly
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 27 , Issue 11 , November 2015 , pp. 1813 - 1824
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2015 

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