Psychological distress, including depression, and coronary heart disease (CHD) remain major causes of morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, psychological distress, itself, appears to increase the risk of CHD. However, the biological mechanism(s) through which psychological distress and CHD are related remain poorly understood. Recent evidence implicates deficient dietary consumption of fish oil (supplying omega-3 fatty acids) in both psychological distress and CHD. The proposed research would utilize structural equation modeling to test a hypothesized model positing that psychological distress and CHD share a causal factor - dietary omega-3 fatty acid deficiency - in which chronic, systemic inflammation serves as the mediating variable. Subjects will be 300 healthy community volunteers; already participating in a funded investigation (HL40962). The requested grant would: a) support additional assays of phospholipid fatty acid composition, interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein made possible through a new collaboration between the principal investigator and Dr. Jeffrey Yao, and b) support biostatistical analysis using structural equation modeling. Results of the study could redirect current conceptualizations of the relationship between psychological factors and CHD risk, and lead to randomized clinical trials testing new interventions.
