Stress, Depression And Immune Response

The field of PNI is not without controversy. One of the debatable topics is the causal relationship between stress, depression and immune response. Depression has been implicated in causing behavioral changes in people with major depressive disorder. Some of these lifestyle changes can be profound, such as, not eating, drug abuse, or disturbed sleep patterns. Some argue that it really is these "lifestyles" which is the culprit in reduced immune functioning. Having bad nutritional habits could starve the body of necessary nutrients to maintain high levels of white blood cells. As a result, the immune system downgrades its functioning and the person becomes more prone to diseases or inflammatory.
In a study done with depressed women and physical