The Effect of Veteran Status on Mortality among Older Americans and Its Pathways

Xian Liu, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)
Charles Engel, Jr., Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)
Han Kang, Department of Veterans Affairs
David Cowan, Walter Reed Army Medical Center

The present research examines the excess mortality among American veterans age 70 or older during a 2-3 period from 1993/94 to the end of 1995. Data used for this study come from the Survey of Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest-Old. The research decomposes the effect of veteran status (veterans versus non-veterans) into the direct effect and the indirect effects by means of physical health conditions and mental disorders on the mortality of older Americans, using a structural hazard rate model. We have shown that at age 70 an older veteran is expected to have a slightly higher data rate than his or her non-veteran counterpart, and such excess mortality among veterans tends to increase considerably over age. The direct and indirect effects of veteran status mostly perform in opposite directions, and such effects vary enormously over age in magnitude and direction.