Prior research has demonstrated associations between adolescent depression and alterations in the white matter microstructure of fiber tracts implicated in emotion regulation. Using diffusion tensor imaging, this study explored premorbid, sex-specific white matter microstructural features that related to future emergence of major depressive disorder (MDD) during adolescence and young adulthood. Adolescents from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence study, who were 12–21 years old at study entry and had not experienced major depression as of the baseline assessment, were selected for inclusion (N = 462, n = 223 female adolescents). Over five years of annual follow-up, 63 participants developed a diagnosis of MDD, as determined by the Computerized Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (n = 39 female adolescents). A whole-brain multivariate modeling approach was used to examine the relationship between fractional anisotropy (FA) at baseline and emergence into MDD, as a function of sex, controlling for age at baseline. Among female adolescents, those who developed MDD had significantly lower baseline FA in a portion of left precentral gyrus white matter, while male adolescents exhibited the opposite pattern. These results may serve as indirect microstructural markers of risk and targets for the prevention of depression during adolescence.

先前的研究已经证明青少年抑郁症与情绪调节相关纤维束白质微结构的改变之间存在关联。这项研究利用弥散张量成像，探讨了与青春期和成年早期重度抑郁症 (MDD) 未来出现相关的病前、性别特异性白质微观结构特征。来自国家青春期酒精和神经发育联盟研究的青少年被选入研究对象，他们在研究开始时年龄为 12-21 岁，并且在基线评估时尚未经历过重度抑郁症（ N = 462， n = 223 女性青少年） 。在五年的年度随访中，63 名参与者根据酒精中毒遗传学计算机化半结构化评估（ n = 39 名女性青少年）诊断为 MDD。采用全脑多变量建模方法来检查基线分数各向异性 (FA) 与 MDD 出现之间的关系，作为性别的函数，并控制基线年龄。在女性青少年中，患有 MDD 的人左中央前回白质部分的基线 FA 显着降低，而男性青少年则表现出相反的模式。这些结果可以作为青春期抑郁症风险的间接微观结构标记和预防抑郁症的目标。