Background: Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) & depression problems are increasing concerns globally as cardiovascular diseases (CVD) solely account for almost one-half of NCD deaths. Similarly, 280 million people i.e., 3.4% of the world population are suffering from depression. There is a direct association between CHD and depression as studies show that up to one in five people with CHD may experience depression. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of CHD in the United States. There have been studies examining the association between these, but none in Tennessee. This study aims to investigate the association between CHD and depression. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System a nationally representative U.S. telephone-based survey of adults aged 18 years and extracted data for Tennessee (n=4,788). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the association between coronary artery disease and depression. We controlled for the past month's income, race/ethnicity, educational status, gender, and age. Results: Overall, 25.5% (n=1,209) reported having been diagnosed with depression, while 6.0% (n=289) reported coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease predicted higher odds of depression (OR=1.86, 95% CI, 1.44, 2.41) along with low income (OR=2.14, 95% CI, 1.85, 2.48) and female gender (OR=1.94, 95% CI, 1.69, 2.23). Conclusion: High prevalence of depression is one of the major health challenges in Tennessee. Similarly, the prevalence of coronary artery disease was also prominent. We found a significant association with higher odds of depression among patients with coronary artery disease. Along with this, low income and female gender were also associated with depression. To address patients with depression, targeted efforts and disease management are needed among patients with CHD. More research focusing on the other associated variables is to be studied. Keywords: Coronary Heart Disease, Depression, Health disparities in Tennessee

Background: The Tennessee veterans represents 8.3 percent of state’s adult population, these includes the service members from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Some of the research done on veterans shows that approximately 14% to 16% of U.S. service members deployed suffer from mental health challenges like PTSD or depression and substance abuse. The issue of mental health and substance abuse worsen among veterans populations while transitioning to civil life. The mental health symptoms among 1,239 American veterans assessed online one month prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States through next year shows slight increase in mental health symptoms over time. The proposed study examines the association between veteran status and depression, alcohol use, and smoking in Tennessee. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System a nationally representative U.S. telephone-based survey of adults aged 18 years and extracted data for Tennessee (n=4,788). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the association between coronary artery disease and depression. We controlled for past month income, race/ethnicity, educational status, gender, and age. Results: Overall, among U.S. military veterans 23.7% (n=145) were diagnosed with depression, 46.6% consumed alcohol in the last 30 days, while 15.2% (n=93) smoked cigarettes within the last 30 days. U.S military veterans status (OR=1.40, 95% CI, 1.12, 1.74) along with low income (OR=2.21, 95% CI, 1.91, 2.55) and female gender (OR=2.07, 95% CI, 1.78, 2.41) was significantly associated with depression. U.S military veteran status was not associated with alcohol use or smoking. Conclusion: The results implicate that the veterans in Tennessee are on higher risks of depression and alcohol consumption than non-veterans. Findings highlight the need of ongoing treatment and social support for the veterans population in Tennessee. Additional research is needed to understand the type of treatment and social support for this population. Keywords: Coronary Heart Disease, Mental Health Disorders, Health disparities in Tennessee