Table 1.

VA Enrollee Population, 2008–2014

	Age 18–64	Age 65+	All
N	4,593,485	4,157,308	8,016,250
Mean years of follow‐up	5.3	5.1	5.2
Mean age, years	48.7	73.3	59.9
Female, %	9.9%	2.1%	6.5%
Priority category
1 to 4	35%	27%	30%
5 to 6	26%	25%	26%
7 to 8	37%	48%	43%
Missing	2%	<1%	1%
% residing in
Low minority % areas	58%	71%	64%
Moderate minority % areas	27%	20%	24%
High minority % areas	15%	9%	12%
% residing in
Low‐income areas	26%	26%	26%
Moderate‐income areas	55%	56%	55%
High‐income areas	19%	18%	19%

Note: As all veterans are observed multiple years, we used the observed value during the first observed year. Some individuals who aged into 65+ category are studied in both age cohorts; therefore, the number of veterans in “All” column is smaller than the total from the two age groups. Distribution of veteran population by race/ethnicity and individual median income was based on the ZIP code–level data from American Community Surveys 2007–2011. Minority veterans were defined as those who were not non‐Hispanic white; based on the proportion of veteran population who were minority, ZIP codes were grouped as low (<20%), moderate (20% to 50%), and high (>50%). To categorize ZIP codes by median income, we obtained the ratio between median income and federal poverty level threshold for a family of four ($23,021 in 2011) and grouped ZIP codes as low income (income ratio <=133%), moderate income (133% to 200%), and high income (>200%).