Table 3.
Overview of DTI studies on sex differences in depression
| Study | Tesla sequence | Measures | Brain areas | Methods for Sex Differences Analyses Sex by Diagnosis Effects |
Covariates | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Tested? | Findings | ||||||
| Ho et al., 2021 |
3T T1 |
R1, FA, MD, AD, RD | Corpus callosum genu and splenium, cingulum cingulate, uncinate fasciculus | GLM | Yes | Yes | Study group, psychotropic medication status, Tanner stage, age of initial depression onset, duration of current episode, age of menarche |
Increased R1 in the L uncinate fasciculus and corpus callosum genu in MDD females compared to healthy females. Association between higher R1 in the L uncinate fasciculus and severe depressive symptoms in females. No gender-specific association in FA. |
| Kliamovich et al., 2021 | 3T | FA, MD, AD, RD | Whole brain | GLM | Yes | Yes | Age, groups, GAD, OCD, baseline depression symptoms | Lower FA and higher RD in MDD females, higher FA and AD and lower RD in MDD males in a cluster of precentral gyrus WM bordering on the superior corona radiata. |
| Lyon et al., 2019 | 3 T | FA, AD, ADC, RD | Whole brain | GLM | Yes | Yes | Age |
Elevated FA in genu of cc, bilateral cerebral peduncle, and left UF in HC females compared to MDD females Elevated AD in left frontal projection of the cc in HC females compared to MDD females |
| Ugwu et al., 2015 | 3 T | FA, LD, RD | RC, DC, PC, UF, Crus of the fornix, SLF, Inferior FOF | GLM | Yes | Yes | Age |
Lower FA in PC and higher LD in FOF in MDD males than male controls. Greater LD in SLF in MDD males than females |
Abbreviations: DTI: Diffusion tensor imaging, FA: Fractional anisotropy, MD: Mean diffusivity, AD: Axial diffusivity, RD: Radial diffusivity, LD: Longitudinal diffusivity, ADC: Apparent diffusion coefficient, cc: corpus callosum, RC/DC/PC: Rostral/Dorsal/Parahippocampal Cingulum, UF: Uncinate fasciculus, SLF: Superior longitudinal fasciculus, FOF: Fronto-occipital fasciculus, GAD: General anxiety disorder, OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive disorder, MDD: Major depressive disorder, WM: White matter, GLM: General linear model, T: Tesla, L: Left.