Degree centrality values in the left calcarine as a potential imaging biomarker for anxious major depressive disorder.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) with comorbid anxiety is an intricate psychiatric condition, but limited research is available on the degree centrality (DC) between anxious MDD and nonanxious MDD patients.

Aim: To examine changes in DC values and their use as neuroimaging biomarkers in anxious and non-anxious MDD patients.

Methods: We examined 23 anxious MDD patients, 30 nonanxious MDD patients, and 28 healthy controls (HCs) using the DC for data analysis.

Results: Compared with HCs, the anxious MDD group reported markedly reduced DC values in the right fusiform gyrus (FFG) and inferior occipital gyrus, whereas elevated DC values in the left middle frontal gyrus and left inferior parietal angular gyrus. The nonanxious MDD group exhibited surged DC values in the bilateral cerebellum IX, right precuneus, and opercular part of the inferior frontal gyrus. Unlike the nonanxious MDD group, the anxious MDD group exhibited declined DC values in the right FFG and bilateral calcarine (CAL). Besides, declined DC values in the right FFG and bilateral CAL negatively correlated with anxiety scores in the MDD group.

Conclusion: This study shows that abnormal DC patterns in MDD, especially in the left CAL, can distinguish MDD from its anxiety subtype, indicating a potential neuroimaging biomarker.