Janice Kiecolt-Glaser: On Depression, Antidepressants, and the Immune System
Is there any evidence that treating depression with medicines will lead to a stronger immune system?
Treating depression with medicines like antidepressants can help both your mood and your immune system. Depression can fuel inflammation, and data from several studies suggest that antidepressants may dampen inflammation. Drugs that treat depression may have other positive benefits that indirectly help inflammation as well; when people are depressed their sleep is poorer, they tend to eat high-fat diets, they exercise less, and they smoke and drink more—behaviors that can promote inflammation. Inflammation is associated with many age-related diseases, including heart disease and stroke, so treating depression may be one way to help heal the body as well.
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