Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38242882›Full record

ArticleTranslational psychiatry2024

Effects of lockdowns on neurobiological and psychometric parameters in unipolar depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jakob Unterholzner, Alexander Kautzky, Murray Bruce Reed, Theresa Friederike Wechsler, Valentin Popper, Benjamin Spurny-Dworak, Peter Stöhrmann, Manfred Klöbl, Nimmy Varghese, Andreas Mühlberger and 5 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Translational psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 23% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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

15 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Jakob UnterholznerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Alexander KautzkyDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0001-9251-8285
Murray Bruce ReedDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Theresa Friederike WechslerDepartment for Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-5514-2311
Valentin PopperDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Benjamin Spurny-DworakDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Peter StöhrmannDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-7324-0414
Manfred KlöblDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0003-2107-8803
Nimmy VargheseNeurobiology Lab for Brain Aging and Mental Health, Transfaculty Research Platform Molecular & Cognitive Neuroscience (MCN), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Andreas MühlbergerDepartment for Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
Anne EckertNeurobiology Lab for Brain Aging and Mental Health, Transfaculty Research Platform Molecular & Cognitive Neuroscience (MCN), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-9341-3669
Richard FreyDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Dan RujescuDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-1432-313X
Rupert LanzenbergerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0003-4641-9539
Thomas VanicekDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. thomas.vanicek@meduniwien.ac.at.ORCID 0000-0002-5116-9899
Medical University of Vienna · ATUniversity of Basel · CHUniversity of Regensburg · DE

Funding

Magistrat der Stadt Wien (Vienna City Administration) APCOV26BGM
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Defying the COVID-19 pandemic required restriction measures of unprecedented scale, that may induce and exacerbate psychiatric symptoms across the population. We aimed to assess in vivo dynamic effects of mitigation strategies on human brain neurobiology, neuroplastic as well as psychometric parameters. Three structural magnetic resonance imaging measurements, serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (sBDNF) analyses, and psychometric assessments (Beck Depression Inventory-II and Perceived Stress Questionnaire-20) were performed in healthy individuals and patients with a recurrent major depressive disorder in the period from September 2020 to July 2021. Group differences and changes over time in structural imaging, neuroplastic and psychometric parameters were assessed with linear mixed models. Analysis of data from 18 patients with a recurrent major depressive disorder and 28 healthy individuals showed clinically relevant scores for depression and stress in the patient group as well as significant cross-sectional differences in depression scores (F = 30.89, p < 0.001) and three subscales of the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (Worries: F = 19.19, p < 0.001, Tension: F = 34.44, p < 0.001, Joy: F = 12.05, p = 0.001). Linear mixed models revealed no significant changes over time in cortical thickness of the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala (F = 0.29, p > 0.1) and no interaction with group (F = 0.28, p > 0.1). Further, analysis revealed no main effect of time and no interaction of time x group in depressive symptoms, perceived stress subscales, and sBDNF (all p > 0.1). Despite the limited sample size, the strength of this investigation lies in the multimodal assessment of peri-pandemic lockdown effects. Nine months of varying restrictions measures did not result in observable changes in brain morphology nor impact depressive symptoms in either psychiatric patients with a recurrent major depressive disorder or healthy individuals. While these neurobiological and psychometric data stand in contrast to initial expectations about the effects of restriction measures, they might inform future investigations of longitudinal effects of restriction measures on mental health.

Indexed as

COVID-19Major Depressive DisorderCommunicable Disease ControlCross-Sectional StudiesDepressionHumansNeurobiologyPandemicsPsychometrics

Identifiers

PMID38242882
PMCPMC10798945
OpenAlexW4391035861

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.