Table 1.
Characteristics of U.S. Women Veterans by Military Service Era
| Characteristics | WWII era (n = 506) | Korea era (n = 737) | Vietnam era (n = 555) | Gulf War 1 era (n = 780) | OEF/OIF/OND (n = 1,029) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic characteristics | |||||
| Age group in years (%)* | |||||
| 18–44 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 43.8 | 69.9 |
| 45–64 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 38.2 | 53.7 | 30.1 |
| ≥ 65 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 57.3 | 2.6 | 0.0 |
| Race-ethnicity (%)* | |||||
| Hispanic | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 7.2 | 13.6 |
| Non-Hispanic White | 93.6 | 87.8 | 86.1 | 69.2 | 59.2 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 0.2 | 2.2 | 7.8 | 14.7 | 20.9 |
| All others | 6.0 | 9.3 | 5.3 | 8.9 | 6.3 |
| Marital status, current (%)* | |||||
| Married or partnered | 19.6 | 31.7 | 47.6 | 72.3 | 57.8 |
| Divorced | 5.9 | 20.0 | 11.9 | 13.9 | 17.8 |
| Separated | 2.8 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 3.3 |
| Widowed | 64.3 | 29.4 | 5.6 | 1.5 | 0.4 |
| Never married | 7.4 | 18.2 | 32.2 | 9.5 | 20.8 |
| College graduate (%)* | 34.5 | 29.0 | 62.6 | 43.9 | 39.0 |
| Employed (%)* | 0.4 | 8.0 | 28.0 | 65.9 | 67.2 |
| Annual household income < $20,000 (%)* | 36.9 | 26.8 | 8.8 | 6.3 | 10.2 |
| Medical insurance (%)* | |||||
| None | 8.9 | 9.7 | 10.9 | 11.2 | 22.6 |
| Medicare (+/− other insurance) | 85.3 | 85.1 | 59.2 | 3.6 | 0.3 |
| Private or other only | 5.8 | 5.2 | 29.9 | 85.2 | 77.1 |
| Has military service-connected disability (%)* | 56.7 | 46.3 | 54.0 | 28.2 | 27.9 |
| VA enrollment priority group high (%)* | 85.5 | 74.2 | 68.0 | 51.0 | 97.7 |
| Health characteristics | |||||
| Overall health status fair or poor (%)* | 39.0 | 40.0 | 19.7 | 14.5 | 14.8 |
| Number of diagnosed physical health conditions (mean (SD))* | 3.8 (2.2) | 3.5 (3.0) | 2.5 (1.3) | 1.2 (0.8) | 0.7 (2.3) |
| One or more diagnosed physical health conditions (%)* | 99.5 | 98.0 | 89.3 | 65.1 | 44.4 |
| Number of diagnosed mental health conditions (mean (SD))* | 0.1 (0.5) | 0.4 (1.0) | 0.4 (0.5) | 0.4 (0.4) | 0.5 (1.8) |
| One or more diagnosed mental health conditions (%)† | 10.9 | 33.8 | 30.1 | 32.3 | 33.6 |
Column headers list unweighted sample size; table percentages and means are weighted population estimates for the U.S. woman veteran population
*p < 0.001, †p = 0.05 for comparisons among groups