title: Hippocampal volume is inversely related to PTSD duration.
abstract: Numerous imaging studies have reported smaller hippocampal volumes in patients with PTSD. To investigate whether decreased hippocampal volume is associated with PTSD chronicity, independent of age, we used hierarchical linear regression to examine the relationship between PTSD duration (estimated from the amount of time that had elapsed since the traumatic event; mean=17 years; range=6-36 years) and hippocampal volume, adjusting for age and other factors. Freesurfer version 4.5 was used to quantify the volumes of the hippocampus and the caudate nucleus, which served as a "control" region, from the 1.5T Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) of 55 combat veterans (mean age 45±9 years) with chronic and current PTSD. PTSD duration was significantly associated with right hippocampal volume (β=-0.34, t=-2.40, P=0.02) after accounting for intracranial volume, age, gender (entered in the first step) and comorbidities (e.g., early life trauma, current major depression, history of substance abuse/dependence, psychotropic medication use, entered in the second step). This finding provides support for the potential neurotoxic effects of PTSD on hippocampal volume.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, 114M, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA. Electronic address: linda.chao@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Linda L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Mental Health Service, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yaffe
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Service, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA; California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Samuelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Mental Health Service, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Neylan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000473:pathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000473:pathology; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Combat veterans; Hippocampus; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Structural magnetic resonance imaging; Volumetry