Synthia Guimond, Ahmad Alftieh, Gabriel A Devenyi, Luke Mike, M Mallar Chakravarty, Jai L Shah, David A Parker, John A Sweeney, Godfrey Pearlson, Brett A Clementz, Carol A Tamminga, Matcheri Keshavan
{"title":"Enlarged pituitary gland volume: a possible state rather than trait marker of psychotic disorders.","authors":"Synthia Guimond, Ahmad Alftieh, Gabriel A Devenyi, Luke Mike, M Mallar Chakravarty, Jai L Shah, David A Parker, John A Sweeney, Godfrey Pearlson, Brett A Clementz, Carol A Tamminga, Matcheri Keshavan","doi":"10.1017/S003329172300380X","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Enlarged pituitary gland volume could be a marker of psychotic disorders. However, previous studies report conflicting results. To better understand the role of the pituitary gland in psychosis, we examined a large transdiagnostic sample of individuals with psychotic disorders.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study included 751 participants (174 with schizophrenia, 114 with schizoaffective disorder, 167 with psychotic bipolar disorder, and 296 healthy controls) across six sites in the Bipolar-Schizophrenia Network on Intermediate Phenotypes consortium. Structural magnetic resonance images were obtained, and pituitary gland volumes were measured using the MAGeT brain algorithm. Linear mixed models examined between-group differences with controls and among patient subgroups based on diagnosis, as well as how pituitary volumes were associated with symptom severity, cognitive function, antipsychotic dose, and illness duration.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mean pituitary gland volume did not significantly differ between patients and controls. No significant effect of diagnosis was observed. Larger pituitary gland volume was associated with greater symptom severity (<i>F</i> = 13.61, <i>p</i> = 0.0002), lower cognitive function (<i>F</i> = 4.76, <i>p</i> = 0.03), and higher antipsychotic dose (<i>F</i> = 5.20, <i>p</i> = 0.02). Illness duration was not significantly associated with pituitary gland volume. When all variables were considered, only symptom severity significantly predicted pituitary gland volume (<i>F</i> = 7.54, <i>p</i> = 0.006).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although pituitary volumes were not increased in psychotic disorders, larger size may be a marker associated with more severe symptoms in the progression of psychosis. This finding helps clarify previous inconsistent reports and highlights the need for further research into pituitary gland-related factors in individuals with psychosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11132920/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychological Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329172300380X","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/2/15 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Enlarged pituitary gland volume could be a marker of psychotic disorders. However, previous studies report conflicting results. To better understand the role of the pituitary gland in psychosis, we examined a large transdiagnostic sample of individuals with psychotic disorders.
Methods: The study included 751 participants (174 with schizophrenia, 114 with schizoaffective disorder, 167 with psychotic bipolar disorder, and 296 healthy controls) across six sites in the Bipolar-Schizophrenia Network on Intermediate Phenotypes consortium. Structural magnetic resonance images were obtained, and pituitary gland volumes were measured using the MAGeT brain algorithm. Linear mixed models examined between-group differences with controls and among patient subgroups based on diagnosis, as well as how pituitary volumes were associated with symptom severity, cognitive function, antipsychotic dose, and illness duration.
Results: Mean pituitary gland volume did not significantly differ between patients and controls. No significant effect of diagnosis was observed. Larger pituitary gland volume was associated with greater symptom severity (F = 13.61, p = 0.0002), lower cognitive function (F = 4.76, p = 0.03), and higher antipsychotic dose (F = 5.20, p = 0.02). Illness duration was not significantly associated with pituitary gland volume. When all variables were considered, only symptom severity significantly predicted pituitary gland volume (F = 7.54, p = 0.006).
Conclusions: Although pituitary volumes were not increased in psychotic disorders, larger size may be a marker associated with more severe symptoms in the progression of psychosis. This finding helps clarify previous inconsistent reports and highlights the need for further research into pituitary gland-related factors in individuals with psychosis.
期刊介绍:
Now in its fifth decade of publication, Psychological Medicine is a leading international journal in the fields of psychiatry, related aspects of psychology and basic sciences. From 2014, there are 16 issues a year, each featuring original articles reporting key research being undertaken worldwide, together with shorter editorials by distinguished scholars and an important book review section. The journal''s success is clearly demonstrated by a consistently high impact factor.