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Depression has been repeatedly associated with poorer outcomes in coronary heart disease (CHD), but the mechanisms linking these phenomena are unclear, especially because of several possibly confounding factors: smokers have higher rates of depressive symptoms than nonsmokers; smokers with depression often have more difficulty quitting cigarettes than nondepressed smokers; and depressed people have a heightened risk for relapse of depression within 2 years of quitting smoking. To investigate potential links, investigators conducted a meta-analysis of studies on smoking cessation in depressed patients with CHD.
In all 19 studies identified (20 unique data sets), patients who smoked when CHD was diagnosed and who were noted to be depressed wer…