An association study of BDNF and metabolic risk factors in late-life depression.

Vroege, E.M (2014) An association study of BDNF and metabolic risk factors in late-life depression. thesis, Medicine.

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Abstract

Serum levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) are abnormally low in depressed patients as compared to controls in an adult population, supporting to the neurotrophic hypothesis of depression that postulates that a neurotrophic deficit causes depressive symptoms. In late life, multiple etiological pathways might explain depressive symptoms of which cerebrovascular disease is supposed to be a dominant pathway (‘vascular depression hypothesis’). Cerebrovascular disease is supposed to lead to depressive symptoms due to a combination of local fiber tract disruption, inflammation and hypoperfusion. Most studies tend to focus on one specific pathway; the aim of this study was to investigate the neurotrophic hypothesis and the vascular hypothesis in concert. We hypothesized that BDNF serum levels are differently associated with depression in older patients with or without the metabolic syndrome, with the lowest levels in depressed older patients without the metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, it sought to explore the relationship between BDNF serum levels and the components of metabolic syndrome, since recent data point to metabotropic effects of BDNF. Data are from the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older persons (NESDO), including 116 non-depressed and 344 depressed participants (age >60 years). BDNF serum levels and metabolic factors (waist circumference, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, blood pressure and fasting glucose) were measured. The metabolic syndrome was assessed using the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP-ATPIII) classification. Fully adjusted (for age, gender, physical activity, chronic diseases, cognitive impairment, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor usage, sunlight and sample storage) analysis of covariance showed an interaction effect of metabolic syndrome and depression status with BDNF serum levels as the dependent variable (F = 3.49; df = 1.449; p = 0.06). BDNF serum levels were lowest in non-depressed participants without the metabolic syndrome, differing significantly from depressed participants without the metabolic syndrome, but not from the other groups. None of the components of the metabolic syndrome were significantly associated with BDNF serum levels. In conclusion, lower BDNF serum levels were not associated with depression in the absence of the metabolic syndrome. In contrast with our hypothesis, the ‘healthiest’ group of participants without depression and metabolic syndrome had the lowest BDNF serum levels. Future research should evaluate possible protective mechanisms of BDNF expression in older patients and take into account different etiological pathways and their interaction in late-life depression.

Item Type:	Thesis (Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Oude Voshaar, prof. dr. R.C.
Faculty:	Medical Sciences
Date Deposited:	25 Jun 2020 10:45
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2020 10:45
URI:	https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/614

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