Increased Mortality Among Older Veterans Admitted to VA Homelessness Programs.

OBJECTIVE

National Death Index data were examined to describe mortality patterns among older veterans who are homeless.

METHODS

Homelessness and health care records from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs were used to identify old (ages 55-59) and older (ages ≥60) veterans who were (N=4,475) or were not (N=20,071) homeless. Survival functions and causes of death of the two samples over an 11-year follow-up period were compared.

RESULTS

Substantially more veterans who were homeless (34.9%) died compared with the control sample (18.2%). Veterans who were homeless were approximately 2.5 years younger at time of death compared with the control sample. Older veterans who were homeless had the lowest survival rate (58%). No disease category appeared to be critical in reducing survival time. Suicide was twice as frequent in the homeless (.4%) versus the control (.2%) sample.

CONCLUSIONS

Older veterans who were homeless experienced excess mortality and increased suicide risk.