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Objective:

This study examined whether clinical depression is associated with a differential inflammatory response to an acute bout of psychological stress.

Methods:

A total of 72 women participated in the study; half met diagnostic criteria for clinical depression; the others had no history of psychiatric illness. The groups were matched with respect to age and ethnicity. All subjects were exposed to a 17-minute mock-job interview; blood was drawn to assess secretion and regulation of inflammatory molecules.

Results:

The stressor was associated with feelings of shame and anxiety, a mobilization of monocytes, neutrophils, and C-reactive protein into the circulation, and greater endotoxin-stimulated production of interluekin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α by white blood cells in vitro. Depressed subjects began the session with greater sensitivity to the antiinflammatory properties of glucocorticoids than control subjects …