Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30021460›Full record

SynthesisThe American journal of psychiatry2018

Meta-Analysis of 89 Structural MRI Studies in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Comparison With Major Depressive Disorder.

Konstantinos Bromis, Maria Calem, Antje A T S Reinders, Steven C R Williams, Matthew J Kempton

Open access · bronzeAbstract readComparative StudyMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The American journal of psychiatry, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 88 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
88citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
17.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

88 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 173 citations in OpenAlex.

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  4. A whole-brain voxel-based analysis of structural abnormalities in PTSD: An ENIGMA-PGC study.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025
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  20. Memory in Psychiatric Disorders: A Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
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28 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Konstantinos BromisFrom the Department of Neuroimaging and the Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London; the School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, U.K.; and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Maria CalemFrom the Department of Neuroimaging and the Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London; the School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, U.K.; and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Antje A T S ReindersFrom the Department of Neuroimaging and the Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London; the School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, U.K.; and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Steven C R WilliamsFrom the Department of Neuroimaging and the Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London; the School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, U.K.; and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Matthew J KemptonFrom the Department of Neuroimaging and the Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London; the School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, U.K.; and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
National Technical University of Athens · GR

Funding

Department of HealthMedical Research Council MR/J008915/1Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe authors conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of MRI region-of-interest and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because patients have high rates of comorbid depression, an additional objective was to compare the findings to a meta-analysis of MRI studies in depression.

methodThe MEDLINE database was searched for studies from 1985 through 2016. A total of 113 studies met inclusion criteria and were included in an online database. Of these, 66 were selected for the region-of-interest meta-analysis and 13 for the VBM meta-analysis. The region-of-interest meta-analysis was conducted and compared with a meta-analysis of major depressive disorder. Within the region-of-interest meta-analysis, three subanalyses were conducted that included control groups with and without trauma.

resultsIn the region-of-interest meta-analysis, patients with PTSD compared with all control subjects were found to have reduced brain volume, intracranial volume, and volumes of the hippocampus, insula, and anterior cingulate. PTSD patients compared with nontraumatized or traumatized control subjects showed similar changes. Traumatized compared with nontraumatized control subjects showed smaller volumes of the hippocampus bilaterally. For all regions, pooled effect sizes (Hedges' g) varied from -0.84 to 0.43, and number of studies from three to 41. The VBM meta-analysis revealed prominent volumetric reductions in the medial prefrontal cortex, including the anterior cingulate. Compared with region-of-interest data from patients with major depressive disorder, those with PTSD had reduced total brain volume, and both disorders were associated with reduced hippocampal volume.

conclusionsThe meta-analyses revealed structural brain abnormalities associated with PTSD and trauma and suggest that global brain volume reductions distinguish PTSD from major depression.

Indexed as

AdultBrainDatabases, FactualFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMajor Depressive DisorderMaleStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticBrain Imaging TechniquesPosttraumatic Stress Disorder

Identifiers

PMID30021460
PMCPMC6169727
OpenAlexW2884899764

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.