Table 1.
Demographic and Military Characteristics by Primary Use of VA Healthcare Service Status
| Test of Difference | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | Total (N = 3,152) |
Non-VA user (n = 2,547)a |
VA-user (n = 608)a |
t or χ2 | p |
| Sociodemographic characteristics | |||||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 62.0 (13.1) | 60.9 (14.9) | 57.5 (15.2) | 4.96 | <0.01 |
| Gender, n (%) | 4.16 | <0.05 | |||
| Male | 2832 (89.8) | 2322 (91.2) | 538 (88.5) | ||
| Female, n (%) | 320 (10.2) | 225 (8.8) | 70 (11.5) | ||
| Race/ethnicity, n (%) | −3.35 | <0.01 | |||
| White, non-Hispanic | 2633 (83.5) | 1989 (78.1) | 414 (68.1) | 27.04 | <0.01 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 189 (6.0) | 212 (8.3) | 91 (15.0) | 24.95 | <0.01 |
| Hispanic | 152 (4.8) | 207 (8.1) | 53 (8.7) | 0.23 | 0.62 |
| Non-metropolitan | 496 (15.7) | 445 (17.5) | 118 (19.4) | 1.26 | 0.26 |
| Education, n (%) | 2.46 | < 0.05 | |||
| Less than high school | 52 (1.6) | 99 (3.9) | 19 (3.1) | 0.79 | 0.41 |
| High school graduate or equivalent | 431 (13.7) | 741 (29.1) | 191 (31.4) | 1.27 | 0.28 |
| Some college | 1331 (42.2) | 930 (36.5) | 263 (43.3) | 9.49 | < 0.01 |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 1338 (42.4) | 741 (29.1) | 191 (31.4) | 1.27 | 0.28 |
| Married, n (%) | 2345 (74.4) | 1884 (74.0) | 346 (66.9) | 68.95 | <0.01 |
| Employed, n (%) | 1284 (40.7) | 1084 (43.7) | 202 (34.5) | 16.20 | <0.01 |
| Household income ≥60k, n (%) | 1643 (52.1) | 1229 (48.3) | 157 (25.9) | 99.74 | <0.01 |
| Military characteristics | |||||
| Drafted, n (%) | 428 (13.6) | 340 (13.4) | 48 (7.9) | 13.47 | < 0.01 |
| Combat veteran, n (%) | 1104 (35.0) | 795 (31.3) | 312 (51.7) | 61.88 | < 0.01 |
| Branch of service, n (%) | −0.15 | 0.88 | |||
| Army | 1269 (40.3) | 959 (37.7) | 252 (41.4) | 2.99 | 0.08 |
| Navy | 720 (24.1) | 618 (24.3) | 142 (23.4) | 0.22 | 0.67 |
| Air Force | 711 (22.8) | 601 (23.6) | 110 (18.1) | 8.52 | < 0.01 |
| Marine Corps | 256 (8.1) | 277 (10.9) | 74 (12.2) | 0.83 | 0.35 |
| National Guard | 45 (1.4) | 41 (1.6) | 14 (2.3) | 1.38 | 0.23 |
| Coast Guard | 36 (1.1) | 32 (1.3) | 12 (2.0) | 1.84 | 0.18 |
| Other | 20 (0.6) | 17 (0.7) | 4 (0.7) | 0.001 | 1.00 |
| War era, n (%)* | −4.31 | < 0.01 | |||
| World War II | 45 (1.4) | 49 (1.9) | 8 (1.3) | 1.02 | 0.40 |
| Korean | 104 (3.3) | 99 (3.9) | 27 (4.4) | 0.40 | 0.30 |
| Vietnam | 656 (20.8) | 396 (15.5) | 125 (20.6) | 8.94 | < 0.01 |
| Persian Gulf | 106 (3.4) | 88 (3.5) | 35 (5.8) | 6.94 | < 0.05 |
| Iraq/Afghanistan | 115 (3.6) | 109 (4.3) | 73 (12.0) | 54.10 | < 0.01 |
| Other War/Era | 67 (2.1) | 46 (1.8) | 22 (13.1) | 7.65 | < 0.05 |
| Years in military, mean (SD) | 7.4 (7.7) | 6.8 (7.2) | 7.8 (7.7) | 3.10 | < 0.01 |
a
values are weighted. Total weighted n = 3155.
*
assessed only among combat veterans.
Abbreviations: VA = Department of Veterans affairs.