Major depressive disorder and inflammatory markers in elderly patients with heart failure

The authors evaluated levels of inflammatory markers in 34 chronic heart failure (CHF) outpatients age 65 years and over, with (N = 18) and without (N = 16) major depressive disorder (MDD), and healthy-control subjects (N = 13). Patients with CHF had left-ventricular ejection fractions < 0.40 and were in the New York Heart Association functional class II or III. The authors used the SCID DSM-IV to diagnosis MDD. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were significantly higher in patients with CHF and MDD as compared with healthy-control subjects. No differences regarding tumor necrosis factor(alpha) or interleukin(6) were found among the three groups.