A Review of Candidate Pathways Underlying the Association Between Asthma and Major Depressive Disorder

OBJECTIVE: To consider the mechanisms that may link asthma and major depressive disorder (MDD). Asthma and MDD co-occur at higher rates than expected, but whether this reflects shared underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is not known. METHODS: A review of the epidemiological data linking asthma and MDD was conducted and the possible biological mechanisms that could account for the high rate of this comorbidity were reviewed.