Fig. 2: Predicted depressive symptom scores (at any given time) as a function of person-centered inflammation (at any given time) and T1 psychological risk factors (state anxiety, perceived stress, negative affect, and sleep disturbance).

Inflammation (as indexed by a composite measure of CRP, IL-6, and sTNF-RII) was positively associated with depressive symptoms at any given time among women who reported high levels of T1 anxiety, perceived stress, negative affect, and sleep disturbance. Predicted depressive symptom scores were adjusted for age, BMI, race, surgery, cancer stage, and receipt of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and endocrine therapy. Shaded areas depict confidence intervals of simple slopes. The asterisk symbols (*) index statistically significant simple slopes (p < 0.05).