Angry people are more likely to develop heart disease. Depression may weaken the immune system. Stress aggravates asthma.

A host of behaviors - including smoking, overeating and lack of exercise - make people more prone to serious diseases and less likely to recover from them.

Disease itself leads to psychological problems, which can affect how people perceive and cope with their illness.

The link between mind and body is increasingly apparent, according to a new report that examines behavioral connections to a variety of diseases and treatments.

The growing science of that interplay between psychology and biology - known as behavioral medicine - is the focus of a special issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, published yesterday by the American Psychological Association.

"With steadily increasing sophistication, the evidence continues to mount that behavioral factors play a key role in the development and course of nearly all major diseases and disorders, as does the evidence that a wide variety of behavioral interventions produce useful changes in the risk, impact and course of disease," the editors wrote in an introduction to the issue.

It is the third such special issue since 1972, when there was much more skepticism about behavioral medicine than there is today, said Timothy Smith, chairman of the University of Utah's psychology department and editor of the behavioral medicine report. It contains 27 articles on everything from AIDS and arthritis to smoking cessation, obesity, and the cost-effectiveness of treatment.

Some argue for a larger role for psychologists in the treatment of physical disease and for better reimbursement.

Philip Kendall, a Temple University psychology professor who edits the journal, said the boundaries between the mind and the body were disappearing.

"Clinical psychology and health and behavioral medicine are areas where two one-time opposites are converging," he said. That is, the previous "it's-all-biological" view and the "it's-all-in-your-mind" ideology have found compatibility. Healthy behavior, he said, influences weight, breathing, organ function and recovery from illness. "Even the simple adherence to medical advice... requires consideration of psychological influences."

Smith said he was struck by the volume and quality of research on the subject in the last 10 years.

"We have much clearer theories or much more detailed research through which we can trace the pathway from a psychological or behavioral process through some intervening mechanism on to the development and course of the disease itself," he said.

Behavioral medicine, he said, is a big field that looks not just at an individual's illness, but how that illness is affected by psychological makeup, relationships, community and environment. Dealing with sickness then means more than giving the right medicine. It could mean working to change community attitudes or national policies. It could mean working with children to prevent unhealthy behaviors, such as overeating, that start in childhood but may not result in disease for decades.

Thomas Wadden, a psychologist who directs the Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania, said studying how behavior and health interact had gained importance as science had conquered many of the infectious diseases that used to send people to their graves. Now, it's more often our own temperament and behavior that make us sick and determine whether we get well.

Wadden, who wrote an article on obesity for the journal, said doctors had gotten better at helping people lose weight - more exercise and less food is still the best advice - but they are losing ground against a "toxic environment" that discourages physical activity and encourages people to eat huge portions of junk food.

He argues it is time for Americans to tackle the environment that induces so many people to eat themselves sick. That includes looking at whether fast-food restaurants should be allowed to lure children with toys or whether schools should push sugary sodas in exchange for money from soft-drink manufacturers.

Keith Whitfield, associate professor of biobehavioral health at Pennsylvania State University, who wrote one of the articles, said psychologists and doctors must begin to think differently about behavior as the country becomes increasingly diverse. Psychologists need to do more research on how ethnicity, culture, gender and social status affect behavior and health.

Other behavioral connections in the report:

Immune function. Psychosocial factors such as depression or stress affect immune function in infectious disease, cancer, wound healing, autoimmune disease and HIV, research increasingly shows. Negative emotions have been associated with inflammation, which has itself been linked to many conditions of aging, such as heart disease, osteoporosis and arthritis.

Heart disease. Although there's conflicting evidence in some cases, evidence is mounting that anger, depression, anxiety, pessimism, social isolation, and job stress all increase the risk for heart disease. Preliminary evidence also points to "social dominance" - evidenced by controlling behaviors such as a tendency to cut off and talk over an interviewer - as a risk factor. It's not yet clear whether treating these problems affects the course of the disease.

Chronic pain. Psychological factors affect quality of life, the ability to cope, and disability associated with pain. These factors include emotions, social background and the meaning of pain to the sufferer. Long-term pain affects all aspects of a person's functioning.

Diabetes. While there is "very strong genetic loading" for the disease, many people could prevent its onset with a healthier diet and a more active lifestyle, said Linda Gonder-Frederick, clinical director of the Behavioral Medicine Center at the University of Virginia.

Asthma. Patients with asthma have greater airway constriction in response to stress than do healthy people. Although there's no solid evidence that behavioral factors cause asthma, there is some evidence that it plays a role in the development of some disorders. Anxiety, depression and panic disorder are more common in asthma patients. While results are mixed, hypnosis, yoga and biofeedback offer promise for helping some asthma patients.

Depression. Go into a primary-care waiting room and "people are as likely to have depression as hypertension. If you don't catch them there, there's a good chance that they won't get treated," said James Coynes, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania who wrote about depression in primary care. Yet treatment in that setting is not as effective as it is in clinical trials. Coynes thinks that is because treating depression takes more than handing out pills. Because patients often must switch medications or dosages, they need better education and follow-up, he said.