eng Science and Education Publishing American Journal of Public Health Research 2327-6703 2016-01-15 3 6 221 228 10.12691/ajphr-3-6-4 AJPHR2015364 article Hyunmin Kim hyunmin.kelly.kim@gmail.com 1 Jade G. Setias 2 Department of Health Systems Management & Policy, University of Memphis School of Public Health, Memphis, TN, U.S.A. Office of Performance Measurement & Evaluation, New York State Office of Mental Health, Albany, NY, U.S.A. Although there have been studies showing the determinants of obesity, there have been relatively little attention paid to other factors such as mental health disorders like depression and chronic illnesses like hypertension. In addition, there exists a controversy over the association between hypertension and depression. Thus, we have investigated the associations among hypertension, depression, and obesity by adjusting age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status. The data was from the 2011 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). This survey is conducted every year and in particular the data involves approximately 5,000 individuals of all ages in the United States, who completed the health examination component of the survey. We have utilized a logistic regression analysis to examine how hypertension, depression and obesity are associated one another. We have also used a proportional odds model to test how hypertension and depression may affect obesity. The main findings from the results of study are the following: first, being obese and feeling down, depressed or hopeless were associated with an increased likelihood of having hypertension and second, hypertension and depression may positively affect obesity. The findings suggest that as the determinants of obesity, depression and hypertension should be timely diagnosed and treated properly for considering the associations one another. By doing so, it can provide with the overall cost-savings and more importantly, people's health. http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajphr/3/6/4/ajphr-3-6-4.pdf obesity hypertension depression association odds ratio chronic illness mental health illness NHANES