The effect of proinflammatory cytokines in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

•Depression is associated with deregulation of immune system.•CBT was more effective than NCT regarding the severity of depressive symptoms.•CBT decreased serum levels of IL-6 to post-intervention.•CBT decreased serum levels of TNF-α to post-intervention.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating disorder and its pathophysiology is associated with deregulation of the immune system. We investigated the changes in circulating levels of proinflammatory cytokines (specifically IL-6 and TNF-α) measured by the ELISA kit in two psychotherapeutic interventions for MDD: Narrative Cognitive Therapy (NCT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This is a randomized clinical trial including 97 individuals (18 to 29 years-old) with MDD. In CBT there was a significant difference in serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α, therefore indicating that CBT was more effective than NCT on serum levels proinflammatory cytokines.