Body mass index, but not FTO genotype or major depressive disorder, influences brain structure.
Obesity and major depressive disorder (MDD) are highly prevalent and often comorbid health conditions. Both are associated with differences in brain structure and are genetically influenced. Yet, little is known about how obesity, MDD, and known risk genotypes might interact in the brain. Subjects were 81 patients with MDD (mean age 48.6 years) and 69 matched healthy controls (mean age 51.2 years). Subjects underwent 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging, genotyping for the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene rs3751812 polymorphism, and measurements for body mass index (BMI). We conducted a whole brain voxelwise analysis using tensor-based morphometry (TBM) to examine the main and interaction effects of diagnosis, BMI and FTO genotype. Significant effects of BMI were observed across widespread brain regions, indicating reductions in predominantly subcortical and white matter areas associated with increased BMI, but there was no influence of MDD or FTO rs3751812 genotype. There were no significant interaction effects. Within MDD patients, there was no effect of current depressive symptoms; however the use of antidepressant medication was associated with reductions in brain volume in the frontal lobe and cerebellum. Obesity affects brain structure in both healthy participants and MDD patients; this influence may account for some of the brain changes previously associated with MDD. BMI and the use of medication should ideally be measured and controlled for when conducting structural brain imaging research in MDD.
Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK; Computational, Cognitive, and Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Burlington Danes Building, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK. Electronic address: james.cole@imperial.ac.uk.
J H
JH
Cole
C P
CP
Boyle
A
A
Simmons
S
S
Cohen-Woods
M
M
Rivera
P
P
McGuffin
P M
PM
Thompson
C H Y
CH
Fu
D000328:Adult; D000071516:Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
D011506:Proteins; D000071516:Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO; C526492:FTO protein, human
BDI; BMI; Becky Depression Inventory; FDR; FTO; FTO gene; ICV; IQ; MDD; MDT; MP-RAGE; MRI; Magnetization-Prepared Rapid Gradient Echo; SNP; TBM; VBM; body mass index; false-discovery rate; fat-mass and obesity-associated gene; genetics; intelligence quotient; intracranial volume; magnetic resonance imaging; major depressive disorder; minimal deformation template; neuroimaging; single nucleotide polymorphism; tensor-based morphometry; voxel-based morphometry