Skip to main content

Effects of stressful life events on cerebral white matter hyperintensity progression.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Johnson, AD; McQuoid, DR; Steffens, DC; Payne, ME; Beyer, JL; Taylor, WD
Published in: Int J Geriatr Psychiatry
December 2017

OBJECTIVE: Exposure to stressful events is associated with both occurrence of depression and also vascular disease. The objective of this study was to determine whether higher levels of stress exposure was related to measures of pathological brain aging, specifically white matter hyperintensity volumes, in older adults with and without depression. METHODS: The sample included 130 depressed and 110 never-depressed older adults aged 60 years or older enrolled in a longitudinal study at an academic medical center. Participants completed clinical assessments, assessment of stressful event exposure and perceived stress, and magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and after 2 years. Analyses examined both cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between stress measures and white matter hyperintensity volumes. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant relationships observed between cross-sectional baseline stress measures and either baseline hyperintensity volume or 2-year change in hyperintensity volume. However, after controlling for demographic variables and baseline measures, change in stressor exposure was associated with change in hyperintensity volumes. In this analysis, increased stressor exposure was associated with greater increases in white matter hyperintensity volume, while reductions in stressor exposure were associated with less increase in hyperintensity volume. This relationship did not significantly differ based on the presence of either depression or medical comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: This work adds to a growing literature associating exposure to stressful events in later life with more rapid pathological brain aging. Work is needed to understand the physiological mechanisms by which stress exposure has this effect and examine whether stress reduction techniques may modify these observed outcomes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry

DOI

EISSN

1099-1166

Publication Date

December 2017

Volume

32

Issue

12

Start / End Page

e10 / e17

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • White Matter
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Life Change Events
  • Humans
  • Geriatrics
  • Female
  • Depressive Disorder
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Johnson, A. D., McQuoid, D. R., Steffens, D. C., Payne, M. E., Beyer, J. L., & Taylor, W. D. (2017). Effects of stressful life events on cerebral white matter hyperintensity progression. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 32(12), e10–e17. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4644
Johnson, Anne D., Douglas R. McQuoid, David C. Steffens, Martha E. Payne, John L. Beyer, and Warren D. Taylor. “Effects of stressful life events on cerebral white matter hyperintensity progression.Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 32, no. 12 (December 2017): e10–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4644.
Johnson AD, McQuoid DR, Steffens DC, Payne ME, Beyer JL, Taylor WD. Effects of stressful life events on cerebral white matter hyperintensity progression. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2017 Dec;32(12):e10–7.
Johnson, Anne D., et al. “Effects of stressful life events on cerebral white matter hyperintensity progression.Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, vol. 32, no. 12, Dec. 2017, pp. e10–17. Pubmed, doi:10.1002/gps.4644.
Johnson AD, McQuoid DR, Steffens DC, Payne ME, Beyer JL, Taylor WD. Effects of stressful life events on cerebral white matter hyperintensity progression. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2017 Dec;32(12):e10–e17.

Published In

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry

DOI

EISSN

1099-1166

Publication Date

December 2017

Volume

32

Issue

12

Start / End Page

e10 / e17

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • White Matter
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Life Change Events
  • Humans
  • Geriatrics
  • Female
  • Depressive Disorder