TY - JOUR
T1 - Handedness and depression
T2 - A meta-analysis across 87 studies
AU - Packheiser, Julian
AU - Schmitz, Judith
AU - Stein, Clara C.
AU - Pfeifer, Lena Sophsie
AU - Berretz, Gesa
AU - Papadatou-Pastou, Marietta
AU - Peterburs, Jutta
AU - Ocklenburg, Sebastian
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
PY - 2021/11/1
Y1 - 2021/11/1
N2 - Alterations in functional brain lateralization, often indicated by an increased prevalence of left- and/or mixed-handedness, have been demonstrated in several psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders like schizophrenia or autism spectrum disorder. For depression, however, this relationship is largely unclear. While a few studies found evidence that handedness and depression are associated, both the effect size and the direction of this association remain elusive. Here, we collected data from 87 studies totaling 35,501 individuals to provide a precise estimate of differences in left-, mixed- and non-right-handedness between depressed and healthy samples and computed odds ratios (ORs) between these groups. Here, an OR > 1 signifies higher rates of atypical handedness in depressed compared to healthy samples. We found no differences in left- (OR = 1.04, 95% CI = [0.95, 1.15], p = .384), mixed- (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = [0.98, 2.74], p = .060) or non-right-handedness (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = [0.96, 1.15], p = .309) between the two groups. We could thus find no link between handedness and depression on the meta-analytical level.
AB - Alterations in functional brain lateralization, often indicated by an increased prevalence of left- and/or mixed-handedness, have been demonstrated in several psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders like schizophrenia or autism spectrum disorder. For depression, however, this relationship is largely unclear. While a few studies found evidence that handedness and depression are associated, both the effect size and the direction of this association remain elusive. Here, we collected data from 87 studies totaling 35,501 individuals to provide a precise estimate of differences in left-, mixed- and non-right-handedness between depressed and healthy samples and computed odds ratios (ORs) between these groups. Here, an OR > 1 signifies higher rates of atypical handedness in depressed compared to healthy samples. We found no differences in left- (OR = 1.04, 95% CI = [0.95, 1.15], p = .384), mixed- (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = [0.98, 2.74], p = .060) or non-right-handedness (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = [0.96, 1.15], p = .309) between the two groups. We could thus find no link between handedness and depression on the meta-analytical level.
KW - Asymmetry
KW - Brain development
KW - Depression
KW - Handedness
KW - Mental disorders
KW - Meta-analysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110743353&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85110743353&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2021.07.052
DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2021.07.052
M3 - Article
C2 - 34298226
AN - SCOPUS:85110743353
SN - 0165-0327
VL - 294
SP - 200
EP - 209
JO - Journal of Affective Disorders
JF - Journal of Affective Disorders
ER -