title: Personality traits, cognition and volumetric MRI changes in elderly patients with early-onset depression: a 2-year follow-up study.
abstract: Previous studies revealed personality changes in elderly patients with early-onset depression (EOD) that persist in euthymic stages. However, depression in older patients is a complex disorder that may affect not only personality, but also cognition and brain structure. To address this issue, a cross-sectional comparison and 2-year follow-up of 28 EOD elderly patients and 48 healthy controls included detailed neurocognitive assessment, estimates of brain volumes in limbic areas and white matter hyperintensities, as well as evaluation of the Five Factor Model of personality, in a remitted mood state. Results revealed that cognitive performances as well as brain volumes were preserved in EOD patients both at baseline and at follow-up. The increased Neuroticism factor and Anxiety facet scores as well as the decreased Warmth and Positive Emotions facet scores found at baseline reached the level of healthy controls after 2 years. Only the Depression facet scores remained significantly higher in EOD patients compared to controls upon follow-up. Results were independent of depressive relapse since baseline (25% of patients). These findings suggest that both cognitive performances and brain volumes show long-term preservation in older EOD patients. In contrast, the depression-related personality facet might be a trait like marker that persists in the long-term evolution of this disorder.
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva and Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva, 1225 Geneva, Switzerland. kerstin.weber@hcuge.ch
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Panteleimon
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giannakopoulos
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delaloye
authors.forename: Fabienne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Bilbao
authors.forename: Guenaël
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moy
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ebbing
authors.forename: Abba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moussa
authors.forename: François R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Canuto
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales