Project Summary

John F. Todaro, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2004) of Brown University, notes that depression is a risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in healthy men and women. Depressed individuals have a 64% increased risk of developing CHD. Recent studies suggest that elevated systematic inflammation may be responsible for the increased risk by accelerating the atherosclerotic process. However, it is still not known if treating depression alters the inflammatory processes, and thus ultimately reduces the risk of developing CHD. Dr. Todaro will conduct a preliminary clinical trial to determine if cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has an effect on inflammatory markers associated with artherosclerosis. Dr. Todaro will randomly assign 70 depressed men and women to either a treatment group receiving CBT or a control group (not receiving CBT) and will assess the effect of this depression treatment on markers of systemic inflammation. This study may offer a treatment that will prevent the premature onset of CHD in depressed individuals.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Unipolar Depression

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