Major Depression and Inflammatory Risk Markers for Coronary Heart Disease

The overall purpose of this research is to examine whether depression influences immune system function. Studies indicate that individuals who are depressed experience coronary heart disease at a higher rate than expected. This study's goal is to begin identifying mechanisms that might be responsible for this process. This research also examines whether behavioral processes (e.g. smoking) or hormonal processes (e.g. adrenaline release) are responsible for immune system differences between depressed and nondepressed people