Figure 1. Postmyocardial infarction (MI) patients were recruited and assigned to 1 of 4 categories based on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), ranging from no depressive symptoms (BDI <5) to moderate to severe depressive symptoms (BDI 19). During the 5-year follow-up period, a gradient relationship was observed between the magnitude of depressive symptoms and the frequency of deaths, with increased events occurring even in patients with mild depressive symptoms (BDI of 5–9). Reprinted with permission from Lesperance et al (4).