Mediation of the influence of childhood maltreatment on depression relapse by cortical structure: a 2-year longitudinal observational study

Abstract

Background: Childhood maltreatment is a leading environmental risk factor for an unfavourable course of disease in major depressive disorder. Both maltreatment and major depressive disorder are associated with similar brain structural alterations suggesting that brain structural changes could mediate the adverse influence of maltreatment on clinical outcome in major depressive disorder. However, longitudinal studies have not been able to confirm this hypothesis. We therefore aimed to clarify the relationship between childhood trauma, brain structural alterations, and depression relapse in a longitudinal design. Methods: We recruited participants at the Department of Psychiatry, University of..