TABLE 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of sample by veteran race/ethnicity
| Total sample, n = 17,911 | Non-Hispanic, White n = 13,792 | Non-Hispanic Black, n = 3445 | Hispanic, n = 674 | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean ± SD | 73.7 ± 11.6 | 74.5 ± 11.3 | 71.0 ± 12.0 | 71.4 ± 12.5 | <0.001 |
| ≥ age 65, n (%) | 13,399 (74.8) | 10,731 (77.9) | 2227 (64.4) | 441 (65.4) | <0.001 |
| < age 65, n (%) | 4512 (25.2) | 3061 (22.2) | 1218 (35.4) | 233 (34.6) | |
| Male sex, n (%) | 17,555 (98.0) | 13,527 (98.1) | 3365 (97.7) | 663 (98.4) | 0.26 |
| Next of kin relationship, n (%) | |||||
| Spouse | 8513 (47.5) | 6731 (48.8) | 1446 (42.0) | 336 (49.9) | <0.001 |
| Child | 4923 (27.5) | 3860 (28.0) | 885 (25.7) | 178 (26.4) | |
| Sibling | 2245 (12.5) | 1566 (11.4) | 599 (17.4) | 80(11.9) | |
| Other family | 1385 (7.7) | 957 (6.9) | 372 (10.8) | 56 (8.3) | |
| Other non-family | 845 (4.7) | 678 (4.9) | 143 (4.2) | 24 (3.6) | |
| Primary diagnosis (most common), n (%) | |||||
| Respiratory | 4003 (22.4) | 3288 (23.8) | 591 (17.2) | 124 (18.4) | <0.001 |
| Circulatory | 3258 (18.2) | 2520 (18.3) | 611 (17.7) | 127 (18.8) | 0.69 |
| Cancer | 2792 (15.6) | 2080 (15.1) | 632 (18.4) | 80(11.9) | <0.001 |
| Infection | 2508 (14.0) | 1840 (13.3) | 554(16.1) | 114(16.9) | <0.001 |
| Digestive | 1562 (8.7) | 1195 (8.7) | 276 (8.0) | 91 (13.5) | <0.001 |
| Palliative care consult within 90 days of death, n (%) | 6900 (38.5) | 5255 (38.1) | 1403 (40.7) | 242 (35.9) | 0.01 |
| Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, mean ± SD | 8.0 ± 3.0 | 7.9 ± 3.0 | 8.2 ± 3.0 | 8.2 ± 3.1 | <0.001 |
| VAMC complexity level, n (%) | |||||
| Level 1a, 1b, 1c | 15,815 (88.3) | 11,876 (86.1) | 3323 (96.5) | 616 (91.4) | <0.001 |
| Level 2, 3 | 2096 (11.7) | 1916 (13.9) | 122 (3.5) | 58 (8.6) | |
| VAMC urban/rural classification, n (%) | |||||
| Urban | 17,063 (95.3) | 12,973 (94.1) | 3421 (99.3) | 669 (99.3) | <0.001 |
| Rural | 848 (4.7) | 819 (5.9) | 24 (0.7) | 5 (0.7) | |
| Region, n (%) | |||||
| Northeast | 2889 (16.1) | 2346 (17.0) | 456 (13.2) | 87 (12.9) | <0.001 |
| Midwest | 3380 (18.9) | 2814 (20.4) | 533 (15.5) | 33 (4.9) | |
| South | 8772 (49.0) | 6345 (46.0) | 2178 (63.2) | 249 (36.9) | |
| West | 2870 (16.0) | 2287 (16.6) | 278(8.1) | 305 (45.3) |
Note: p-values determined using χ2 for categorical variables and ANOVA for continuous variables. Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
Abbreviation: VAMC, Veterans Affairs medical center.