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Neuroanatomical correlates of familial risk-for-depression and religiosity/spirituality.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:To examine potential neural substrates that underlie the interplay between religiosity/spirituality and risk-for-depression. A new wave of data from a longitudinal, three generation study of individuals at high risk for depression is presented. In addition to providing new longitudinal data, we extend previous findings by employing additional (surface-based) methods for examining cortical volume. MEASURES PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS:Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were collected on 106 second and third generation family members at high or low risk for major depression defined by the presence or absence of depression in the first generation. Religiosity/spirituality measures were collected at the same time as the MRI scans and comprised self-report ratings of personal religious/spiritual (R/S) importance and frequency of religious attendance. Analyses were carried out with Freesurfer. Interactive effects of religiosity/spirituality and risk-for-depression were examined on measures of cortical thickness and cortical surface area. RESULTS:A high degree of belief in the importance of religion/spirituality was associated with both a thicker cortex and a larger pial surface area in persons at high risk for familial depression. No significant association was found between cortical regions and religious attendance in either risk group. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:The results support previous findings of an association between R/S importance and cortical thickness in individuals at high risk for depression, and extend the findings to include an association between R/S importance and greater pial surface area. Moreover, the findings suggest these cortical changes may confer protective benefits to religious/spiritual individuals at high risk for depression.

SUBMITTER: Svob C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5475330 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Neuroanatomical correlates of familial risk-for-depression and religiosity/spirituality.

Svob Connie C Liu Jie J Wickramaratne Priya P Hao Xuejun X Talati Ardesheer A Kayser Jürgen J Tenke Craig C Warner Virginia V Yang Jie J Anderson Micheline M Weissman Myrna M MM

Spirituality in clinical practice (Washington, D.C.) 20170301 1

<h4>Objective</h4>To examine potential neural substrates that underlie the interplay between religiosity/spirituality and risk-for-depression. A new wave of data from a longitudinal, three generation study of individuals at high risk for depression is presented. In addition to providing new longitudinal data, we extend previous findings by employing additional (surface-based) methods for examining cortical volume.<h4>Measures participants and methods</h4>Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans we ...[more]

PMID: 28642885

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Project description:We previously reported a 90% decreased risk in major depression, assessed prospectively, in adult offspring of depressed probands who reported that religion or spirituality was highly important to them. Frequency of church attendance was not significantly related to depression risk. Our previous brain imaging findings in adult offspring in these high-risk families also revealed large expanses of cortical thinning across the lateral surface of the right cerebral hemisphere.To determine whether high-risk adults who reported high importance of religion or spirituality had thicker cortices than those who reported moderate or low importance of religion or spirituality and whether this effect varied by family risk status.Longitudinal, retrospective cohort, familial study of 103 adults (aged 18-54 years) who were the second- or third-generation offspring of depressed (high familial risk) or nondepressed (low familiar risk) probands (first generation). Religious or spiritual importance and church attendance were assessed at 2 time points during 5 years, and cortical thickness was measured on anatomical images of the brain acquired with magnetic resonance imaging at the second time point.Cortical thickness in the parietal regions by risk status.Importance of religion or spirituality, but not frequency of attendance, was associated with thicker cortices in the left and right parietal and occipital regions, the mesial frontal lobe of the right hemisphere, and the cuneus and precuneus in the left hemisphere, independent of familial risk. In addition, the effects of importance on cortical thickness were significantly stronger in the high-risk than in the low-risk group, particularly along the mesial wall of the left hemisphere, in the same region where we previously reported a significant thinner cortex associated with a familial risk of developing depressive illness. We note that these findings are correlational and therefore do not prove a causal association between importance and cortical thickness.A thicker cortex associated with a high importance of religion or spirituality may confer resilience to the development of depressive illness in individuals at high familial risk for major depression, possibly by expanding a cortical reserve that counters to some extent the vulnerability that cortical thinning poses for developing familial depressive illness.

Project description:RATIONALE:Possible genetic correlates of spirituality and depression have been identified in community samples. We investigate some of the previously identified candidates in a sample of families at both high and low-risk for depression. METHOD:Offspring and grandchildren of individuals at high and low-risk for depression, participating in a multi-wave thirty-year longitudinal study, were assessed for seven SNPS drawn from four single gene candidates associated with systems implicated in both depression and spirituality: Serotonin (5-HT1B and 5-HT2A), Dopamine (DRD2), Oxytocin (OT) and Monoamine Vesicular Transporter (VMAT1). RESULTS:Dopamine (DRD2) Serotonin (5-HT1B), their Transporter (VMAT1) and Oxytocin (OXTR) were positively associated with a high level of importance of spirituality or religion (S/R) in the group at low familial risk for depression. DRD2 minor allele was associated with both lifetime major depressive disorder (MDD) and spirituality in the low-risk group for depression. No SNPs were related to S/R in the group at high familial risk for depression. OXTR was associated with lifetime MDD in the full sample. CONCLUSION:Genes for dopamine, serotonin, their vesicular transporter, and oxytocin may be associated with S/R in people at low familial risk for depression. Genes for dopamine may be associated both with S/R and increased risk for depression in people at low-risk for depression, suggesting a common pathway or physiology to mild to moderate depression. MDD is associated with oxytocin across risk groups. In the high-risk group, phenotypic expression of S/R may be suppressed. IMPLICATIONS:The shared association of DRD2 by S/R and depression, generally found to be inversely related, calls for further research on their common physiological pathways, and the phenotypic expression of these pathways based upon use and environment. Prevention for offspring at high familial risk for depression might include support for the development of child spirituality.

Project description:Several studies have shown protective effects between health outcomes and subjective reports of religious/spiritual (R/S) importance, as measured by a single self-report item. In a 3-generation study of individuals at high or low familial risk for depression, R/S importance was found to be protective against depression, as indicated by clinical and neurobiological outcomes. The psychological components underlying these protective effects, however, remain little understood. Hence, to clarify the meaning of answering the R/S importance item, we employed a comprehensive set of validated scales assessing religious beliefs and experiences and exploratory factor analysis to uncover latent R/S constructs that strongly and independently correlated with the single-item measure of R/S importance. A Varimax-rotated principal component analysis (PCA) resulted in a 23-factor solution (Eigenvalue > 1; 71.5% explained variance) with 8 factors that, respectively, accounted for at least 3% of the total variance. The first factor (15.8%) was directly related to the R/S importance item (r = .819), as well as personal relationship with the Divine, forgiveness by God, religious activities, and religious coping, while precluding gratitude, altruism, and social support, among other survey subscales. The corresponding factor scores were greater in older individuals and those at low familial risk. Moreover, Spearman rank-order correlations between the R/S importance item and other subscales revealed relative consistency across generations and risk groups. Taken together, the single R/S importance item constituted a robust measure of what may be generally conceived of as "religious importance," ranking highest among a diverse latent factor structure of R/S. As this suggests adequate single-item construct validity, it may be adequate for use in health studies lacking the resources for more extensive measures. Nonetheless, given that this single item accounted for only a small fraction of the total survey variance, results based on the item should be interpreted and applied with caution.

Project description:ObjectivesTo assess the attitudes, knowledge, and experiences of Brazilian resident physicians regarding religiosity/spirituality (R/S), factors associated with addressing this issue, and its influence on clinical practice.MethodsWe report results of the multicenter "Spirituality in Brazilian Medical Residents" (SBRAMER) study involving 7 Brazilian university centers. The Network for Research Spirituality and Health (NERSH) scale (collecting sociodemographic data, opinions about the R/S-health interface, and respondents' R/S characteristics) and the Duke Religion Index were self-administered. Logistic regression models were constructed to determine those factors associated with residents' opinions on spirituality in clinical practice.ResultsThe sample comprised 879 resident physicians (53.5% of total) from all years of residency with 71.6% from clinical specialties. In general, the residents considered themselves spiritual and religious, despite not regularly attending religious services. Most participants believed R/S had an important influence on patient health (75.2%) and that it was appropriate to discuss these beliefs in clinical encounters with patients (77.1%), although this was not done in routine clinical practice (14.4%). The main barriers to discussing R/S were maintaining professional neutrality (31.4%), concern about offending patients (29.1%), and insufficient time (26.2%). Factors including female gender, clinical specialty (e.g., internal medicine, family medicine, psychiatry) as opposed to surgical specialty (e.g., surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedics), having had formal training on R/S, and higher levels of R/S were associated with greater discussion of and more positive opinions about R/S.ConclusionBrazilian resident physicians held that religious and spiritual beliefs can influence health, and deemed it appropriate for physicians to discuss this issue. However, lack of training was one of the main obstacles to addressing R/S issues in clinical practice. Educators should draw on these data to conduct interventions and produce content on the subject in residency programs.

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Neuroanatomical correlates of familial risk-for-depression and religiosity/spirituality.

Publications

Neuroanatomical correlates of familial risk-for-depression and religiosity/spirituality.

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