espanolSe les administro el cuestionario de salud del paciente (PHQ-9; depresion) y preguntas acerca de la presencia de factores de riesgo tradicionales para la enfermedad coronaria (EC) a 99 pacientes de la Clinica Cardiovascular y 107 controles sanos de Medellin, Colombia. Los pacientes presentaron puntuaciones mas altas en el PHQ-9 que los controles. Por cada punto en el PHQ-9, el riesgo de tener la enfermedad coronaria incremento por un 12% [OR=1,12(1,04–1,21)]. Mediante regresiones logisticas individuales, se encontro que la hipertension y el tabaquismo mediaron la relacion entre sintomas depresivos y la EC. Aunque existe una relacion entre sintomas depresivos y la EC, la hipertension y el tabaquismo parece ser mecanismos importantes que explican esta relacion en este grupo de colombianos. English99 patients with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) from the Cardiovascular Clinic and 107 healthy controls in Medellin, Colombia were administered the Patient Health Questionnaire – 9 (PHQ-9, measure of depression) and answered questions regarding presence of traditional CAD risk factors. CAD patients had significantly higher PHQ-9 scores compared to controls. For each point on the PHQ-9, the risk of having CAD increased by 12% [OR=1.12 (1.04-1.21)]. Using multiple logistic regression models, hypertension and former smoking were found to mediate the relationship between depressive symptoms and CAD. Although there is a relationship between depressive symptoms in the prior two weeks and CAD, hypertension and former smoking are important mechanisms that explain this relationship in this sample of Colombians.