The role of immune abnormality in depression and cardiovascular disease

Depression and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are both highly prevalent disorders, and some evidence shows that there is a ‘vi-cious cycle’ linking major depression and CVD. There is also growing evidence that immune abnormalities underpin the common pathophysiology of both CVD and major depression. The abnormalities include the following: abnormal levels of inflammatory mark-ers, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin-12 (IL-12); increased acute phase proteins, such as C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and haptoglobin; and abnormal complement factors. The findings show that ma-jor depression and CVD patients have greater immune abnormalities, which may increase depressive symptoms and cardiovascular pathological changes, and that there may be a bidirectional relationship, therefore more prospective studies are needed to draw conclu-sions.