***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Three hundred eleven employees of the National Institutes of Health volunteered to take 1 gm of ascorbic acid or lactose placebo in capsules three times a day for nine months . At the onset of a cold , the volunteers were given an additional 3 gm daily of either a placebo or ascorbic acid .  One hundred ninety volunteers completed the study . Dropouts were defined as those who missed at least one month of drug ingestion . They represented 44 % of the placebo group and 34 % of those taking ascorbic acid . Analysis of these data showed that ascorbic acid had at best only a minor influence on the duration and severity of colds , and that the effects demonstrated might be explained equally well by a break in the double blind CONTEXT Depression and low perceived social support ( LPSS ) after myocardial infa rct ion ( MI ) are associated with higher morbidity and mortality , but little is known about whether this excess risk can be reduced through treatment . OBJECTIVE To determine whether mortality and recurrent infa rct ion are reduced by treatment of depression and LPSS with cognitive behavior therapy ( CBT ) , supplemented with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor ( SSRI ) antidepressant when indicated , in patients enrolled within 28 days after MI . DESIGN , SETTING , AND PATIENTS R and omized clinical trial conducted from October 1996 to April 2001 in 2481 MI patients ( 1084 women , 1397 men ) enrolled from 8 clinical centers . Major or minor depression was diagnosed by modified Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Fourth Edition criteria and severity by the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression ( HRSD ) ; LPSS was determined by the Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease Patients ( ENRICHD ) Social Support Instrument ( ESSI ) . R and om allocation was to usual medical care or CBT-based psychosocial intervention . INTERVENTION Cognitive behavior therapy was initiated at a median of 17 days after the index MI for a median of 11 individual sessions throughout 6 months , plus group therapy when feasible , with SSRIs for patients scoring higher than 24 on the HRSD or having a less than 50 % reduction in Beck Depression Inventory scores after 5 weeks . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Composite primary end point of death or recurrent MI ; secondary outcomes included change in HRSD ( for depression ) or ESSI scores ( for LPSS ) at 6 months . RESULTS Improvement in psychosocial outcomes at 6 months favored treatment : mean ( SD ) change in HRSD score , -10.1 ( 7.8 ) in the depression and psychosocial intervention group vs -8.4 ( 7.7 ) in the depression and usual care group ( P<.001 ) ; mean ( SD ) change in ESSI score , 5.1 ( 5.9 ) in the LPSS and psychosocial intervention group vs 3.4 ( 6.0 ) in the LPSS and usual care group ( P<.001 ) . After an average follow-up of 29 months , there was no significant difference in event-free survival between usual care ( 75.9 % ) and psychosocial intervention ( 75.8 % ) . There were also no differences in survival between the psychosocial intervention and usual care arms in any of the 3 psychosocial risk groups ( depression , LPSS , and depression and LPSS patients ) . CONCLUSIONS The intervention did not increase event-free survival . The intervention improved depression and social isolation , although the relative improvement in the psychosocial intervention group compared with the usual care group was less than expected due to substantial improvement in usual care patients CONTEXT Significant symptoms of depression are common in the older community-dwelling population . Although depressive symptoms and disability may commonly occur in the same person , whether depressive symptoms contribute to subsequent functional decline has not been eluci date d. OBJECTIVE To determine whether depressive symptoms in older persons increase the risk of subsequent decline in physical function as measured by objective performance-based tests . DESIGN A 4-year prospect i ve cohort study . SETTING The communities of Iowa and Washington counties , Iowa . PARTICIPANTS A total of 1286 persons aged 71 years and older who completed a short battery of physical performance tests in 1988 and again 4 years later . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Baseline depressive symptoms were assessed by the  Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale .  Physical performance tests included an  assessment of st and ing balance , a timed 2.4-m ( 8-ft ) walk , and a timed test of 5 repetitions of rising from a chair and sitting down .  RESULTS After adjustment for baseline performance score , health status , and sociodemographic factors , increasing levels of depressive symptoms were predictive of greater decline in physical performance over 4 years ( odds ratio for decline in those with depressed mood vs those without , 1.55 ; 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] , 1.02 - 2.34 ) . Even among those at the high end of the functional spectrum , who reported no disability , the severity of depressive symptoms predicted subsequent decline in physical performance ( odds ratio for decline , 1.03 ; 95 % CI , 1.00 - 1.08 ) . CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence that older persons who report depressive symptoms are at higher risk of subsequent physical decline . These results suggest that prevention or reduction of depressed mood could play a role in reducing functional decline in older persons The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of stress management training on quality of life , functional capacity , and heart rate variability in elderly patients with New York Heart Association class I-III congestive heart failure ( CHF ) . While substantial research exists on stress management training for patients with coronary heart disease , there are few data on the value of psychosocial training on patients with CHF . Thirty-three multiethnic patients ( mean age , 66+/-9 years ) were assigned through incomplete r and omization to one of two treatment groups or a wait-listed control group . The 14 participants who completed the treatment attended eight training sessions during a 10-week period . The training consisted of 75-minute sessions adapted from the Freeze-Frame stress management program developed by the Institute of HeartMath . Subjects were assessed at baseline and again at the completion of the training . Depression , stress management , optimism , anxiety , emotional distress , and functional capacity were evaluated , as well as heart rate variability . Significant improvements ( p<0.05 ) were noted in perceived stress , emotional distress , 6-minute walk , and depression , and positive trends were noted in each of the other psychosocial measures . The 24-hour heart rate variability showed no significant changes in autonomic tone . The authors noted that CHF patients were willing study participants and their emotional coping and functional capacity were enhanced . This program offers a simple and cost-effective way to augment medical management of CHF . Given the incompleteness of CHF medical management and the exploding interest in complementary medical intervention , it seems imperative that further work in psychosocial treatment be undertaken We analysed 113 reports published in 1980 in a sample of medical journals to relate features of study design to the magnitude of gains attributed to new therapies over old . Overall we rated 87 per cent of new therapies as improvements over st and ard therapies . The mean gain ( measured by the Mann-Whitney statistic ) was relatively constant across study design s , except for non-r and omized controlled trials with sequential assignment to therapy , which showed a significantly higher likelihood that a patient would do better on the innovation than on st and ard therapy ( p = 0.004 ) . R and omized controlled trials that did not use a double-blind design had a higher likelihood of showing a gain for the innovation than did double-blind trials ( p = 0.02 ) . Any evaluation of an innovation may include both bias and the true efficacy of the new therapy , therefore we may consider making adjustments for the average bias associated with a study design . When interpreting an evaluation of a new therapy , readers should consider the impact of the following average adjustments to the Mann-Whitney statistic : for trials with non-r and om sequential assignment a decrease of 0.15 , for non-double-blind r and omized controlled trials a decrease of 0.11 & NA ; Previous research has documented high rates of noncompliance to prescribed medical therapy in patients recovering from myocardial infa rct ion ( MI ) . This study was undertaken to determine if patients who subsequently drop out of a structured cardiac rehabilitation program  could be prospect ively distinguished from those who remain in the program based upon their initial baseline characteristics . Thirty‐five consecutive patients with recent MIs underwent comprehensive physical and psychological assessment s at entry into the program , and were followed for a period of 1 year . The 14 patients who dropped out of the program could be distinguished from the compliers on the basis of their reduced left ejection fraction assessed by first pass radionuclide angiography at rest and during peak exercise . In addition , their psychological profiles assessed by the MMPI indicated the dropouts were more depressed , hypochondriacal , anxious , and introverted and had lower ego strength than those who remained in the program . Statistical analysis further indicated that psychological variables were associated with noncompliance independently of physical status . These findings suggest that MI patients who are unlikely to adhere to this form of medical therapy may be prospect ively identified based upon their initial physical and psychological characteristics OBJECTIVE To determine if the diagnosis of major depression in patients hospitalized following myocardial infa rct ion ( MI ) would have an independent impact on cardiac mortality over the first 6 months after discharge . DESIGN Prospect i ve evaluation of the impact of depression assessed using a modified version of the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule for major depressive episode . Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate the independent impact of depression after control for significant clinical predictors in the data set . SETTING A large , university-affiliated hospital specializing in cardiac care , located in Montreal , Quebec . PATIENTS All consenting patients ( N = 222 ) who met established criteria for MI between August 1991 and July 1992 and who survived to be discharged from the hospital . Patients were interviewed between 5 and 15 days following the MI and were followed up for 6 months . There were no age limits ( range , 24 to 88 years ; mean , 60 years ) . The sample was 78 % male . PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE Survival status at 6 months . RESULTS By 6 months , 12 patients had died . All deaths were due to cardiac causes . Depression was a significant predictor of mortality ( hazard ratio , 5.74 ; 95 % confidence interval , 4.61 to 6.87 ; P = .0006 ) . The impact of depression remained after control for left ventricular dysfunction ( Killip class ) and previous MI , the multivariate significant predictors of mortality in the data set ( adjusted hazard ratio , 4.29 ; 95 % confidence interval , 3.14 to 5.44 ; P = .013 ) . CONCLUSION Major depression in patients hospitalized following an MI is an independent risk factor for mortality at 6 months . Its impact is at least equivalent to that of left ventricular dysfunction ( Killip class ) and history of previous MI . Additional study is needed to determine whether treatment of depression can influence post-MI survival and to assess possible underlying mechanisms A relationship between cigarette smoking and major depressive disorder was suggested in previous work involving nonr and omly selected sample s. We conducted a test of this association , employing population -based data ( n = 3213 ) collected between 1980 and 1983 in the St Louis Epidemiologic Catchment Area Survey of the National Institute of Mental Health . A history of regular smoking was observed more frequently among individuals who had experienced major depressive disorder at some time in their lives than among individuals who had never experienced major depression or among individuals with no psychiatric diagnosis . Smokers with major depression were also less successful at their attempts to quit than were either of the comparison groups . Gender differences in rates of smoking and of smoking cessation observed in the larger population were not evident among the depressed group . Furthermore , the association between cigarette smoking and major depression was not ubiquitous across all psychiatric diagnoses . Other data are cited indicating that when individuals with a history of depression stop smoking , depressive symptoms and , in some cases , serious major depression may ensue To determine whether participating in physical activity affects psychological well-being in an adolescent population , 147 adolescents completed self-reports of exercise and psychological stress and well-being . Analysis revealed that those who reported greater physical activity also reported less stress and lower levels of depression . Adolescents who experienced a higher incidence of life events also demonstrated a strong association between stress and anxiety/depression/hostility . To investigate the effects of exercise training on psychological well-being , adolescents were assigned to either high or moderate intensity aerobic training , flexibility training or a control group . The training groups met twice per week for 25 - 30 min . Aerobic fitness levels , heart rate , blood pressure and self-report of stress and well-being were measured prior to and following 10 weeks of training . Post-training fitness measures confirmed the effectiveness of the high intensity aerobic exercise and between groups differences for physiological and some psychological measures were found . Subjects undergoing high intensity exercise reported significantly less stress than subjects in the remaining three groups . The relationship between stress and anxiety/depression/hostility for the high intensity group was considerably weakened at the end of the training period . For the remaining subjects , however , this relationship was , if anything , strengthened . This experiment provides evidence to suggest that in an adolescent population , high intensity aerobic exercise has positive effects on well-being The frequency of ventricular premature complexes and the degree of impairment of left ventricular ejection fraction are major predictors of cardiac mortality and sudden death in the year after acute myocardial infa rct ion . Recent studies have implicated psychosocial factors , 
    Output:
    
The primary outcome was a significant reduction in depression .
Depression is common among patients with heart failure .