Inflammation and Specific Symptoms of Depression.

Inflammation and Specific Symptoms of Depression Elevated levels of inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein, are well-documented in people with depression.1,2 Raison and Miller3 suggested that this association may, in fact, be symptom-specific. Higher levels of inflammation are particularly likely tounderlie depression symptoms that characterize sickness behavior, including fatigue, reduced appetite, withdrawal, and inhibited motivation. From an evolutionaryperspective, such symptomshave thebeneficial effect ofpreservingenergy resources foruse in fighting infectionand promoting healing processes.4,5 Here, we tested the hypothesis that the associationbetweenC-reactiveprotein anddepression is symptom-specific.