Table 1.
Sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidities among Veterans Health Administration enrollees, 2016-2020
|
Total Enrollees1 |
Deceased Veterans2 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-2019 | 2020 | 2016-2019 | 2020 | |
| Unique Veterans | 10,382,735 | 9,408,093 | 1,511,101 | 426,069 |
| Age, mean (std. dev.) | 63.5 (16.0) | 63.9 (16.1) | 79.4 (13.0) | 79.8 (13.1) |
| Age Groups | % | % | % | % |
| Less than 40 | 14.7 | 15.0 | 1.2 | 1.3 |
| 40-49 | 10.9 | 11.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| 50-64 | 24.4 | 24.1 | 9.1 | 8.2 |
| 65-79 | 35.8 | 36.5 | 29.8 | 32.3 |
| 80 and over | 14.2 | 13.4 | 58.9 | 57.0 |
| Male | 91.9 | 91.2 | 91.1 | 91.0 |
| Race | ||||
| White | 66.3 | 65.9 | 61.1 | 62.4 |
| Black | 14.1 | 14.4 | 7.9 | 9.2 |
| Other | 2.7 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 1.7 |
| Not Available | 16.8 | 16.7 | 29.4 | 26.6 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 5.7 | 6.1 | 2.7 | 3.0 |
| Marital status | ||||
| Married | 56.2 | 55.7 | 53.8 | 53.9 |
| Single/Never Married | 14.1 | 14.8 | 7.2 | 7.6 |
| Divorced/Separated/Widowed | 25.8 | 24.9 | 30.0 | 29.5 |
| Homeless | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
| Priority Status3 7 or 8 | 28.5 | 27.4 | 23.6 | 23.5 |
| Comorbid Conditions4 | ||||
| None | 57.9 | 51.6 | 52.3 | 49.1 |
| 1 to 2 | 24.5 | 26.1 | 13.3 | 12.6 |
| 3 to 5 | 14.3 | 17.6 | 17.4 | 18.9 |
| 6 or more | 3.3 | 4.7 | 16.9 | 19.5 |
Notes:111,428,134 unique Veteran enrollees during the study period whose comorbidities were identified using data for each calendar year they were enrolled. 2Includes Veterans who died from any cause. Comorbidities of Veterans who died were identified using a 24-month lookback period from time of death and calculated from CDW. 3VHA priority groups are an eligibility determination which reflects disability related to military service, economic hardships, and other factors. 4Indicates the number of Quan-Elixhauser comorbidities observed during the lookback period (see Appendix A1 for a list).