TitlePerceived Stress Is Differentially Related to Hippocampal Subfield Volumes among Older Adults.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2016
AuthorsZimmerman, ME, Ezzati, A, Katz, MJ, Lipton, ML, Brickman, AM, Sliwinski, MJ, Lipton, RB
JournalPLoS One
Volume11
Issue5
Paginatione0154530
Date Published2016
ISSN1932-6203
KeywordsAged, Aged, 80 and over, Brain, Cognition, Dentate Gyrus, Depression, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Organ Size, Self Concept, Stress, Psychological
Abstract

<p><b>INTRODUCTION: </b>Chronic exposure to stress has been shown to impact a wide range of health-related outcomes in older adults. Despite extensive animal literature revealing deleterious effects of biological markers of stress on the dentate gyrus subfield of the hippocampus, links between hippocampal subfields and psychological stress have not been studied in humans. This study examined the relationship between perceived stress and hippocampal subfield volumes among racially/ethnically diverse older adults.</p><p><b>METHODS AND MATERIALS: </b>Between July 2011 and March 2014, 116 nondemented participants were consecutively drawn from the Einstein Aging Study, an ongoing community-based sample of individuals over the age of 70 residing in Bronx, New York. All participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale, and underwent 3.0 T MRI. FreeSurfer was used to derive total hippocampal volume, hippocampal subfield volumes (CA1, CA2/CA3, CA4/Dentate Gyrus (CA4/DG), and subiculum), entorhinal cortex volume, whole brain volume, and total intracranial volume.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>Linear regression analyses revealed that higher levels of perceived stress were associated with smaller total hippocampal volume (β = -0.20, t = -2.40, p = 0.02), smaller CA2/CA3 volumes (β = -0.18, t = -2.24, p = 0.03) and smaller CA4/DG volumes (β = -0.19, t = -2.28, p = 0.03) after controlling for total intracranial volume, age, gender, and race. These findings remained unchanged after removal of individuals with clinically significant symptoms of depression.</p><p><b>DISCUSSION: </b>Our findings provide evidence of a relationship between a direct indicator of psychological stress and specific hippocampal subfield volumes in elderly individuals. These results highlight the importance of clinical screening for chronic stress in otherwise healthy older adults.</p>

DOI10.1371/journal.pone.0154530
Alternate JournalPLoS One
PubMed ID27144832
PubMed Central IDPMC4856349
Grant ListR01 AG025119 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG034119 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG022374 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG037212 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
P01 AG003949 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
P01 AG027734 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States