title: Increased Mortality Among Older Veterans Admitted to VA Homelessness Programs.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Schinka and Dr. Casey are with the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, Tampa, Florida (e-mail: jschinka@health.usf.edu ). Dr. Bossarte is with the Epidemiology Program, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Public Health, Washington, D.C. Dr. Curtiss is with the Department of Psychology, James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, Florida. Mr. Lapcevic is with the VA Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Tampa, Florida.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Schinka
authors.affiliation: Dr. Schinka and Dr. Casey are with the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, Tampa, Florida (e-mail: jschinka@health.usf.edu ). Dr. Bossarte is with the Epidemiology Program, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Public Health, Washington, D.C. Dr. Curtiss is with the Department of Psychology, James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, Florida. Mr. Lapcevic is with the VA Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Tampa, Florida.
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Bossarte
authors.affiliation: Dr. Schinka and Dr. Casey are with the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, Tampa, Florida (e-mail: jschinka@health.usf.edu ). Dr. Bossarte is with the Epidemiology Program, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Public Health, Washington, D.C. Dr. Curtiss is with the Department of Psychology, James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, Florida. Mr. Lapcevic is with the VA Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Tampa, Florida.
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Curtiss
authors.affiliation: Dr. Schinka and Dr. Casey are with the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, Tampa, Florida (e-mail: jschinka@health.usf.edu ). Dr. Bossarte is with the Epidemiology Program, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Public Health, Washington, D.C. Dr. Curtiss is with the Department of Psychology, James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, Florida. Mr. Lapcevic is with the VA Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Tampa, Florida.
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Lapcevic
authors.affiliation: Dr. Schinka and Dr. Casey are with the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, Tampa, Florida (e-mail: jschinka@health.usf.edu ). Dr. Bossarte is with the Epidemiology Program, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Public Health, Washington, D.C. Dr. Curtiss is with the Department of Psychology, James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, Florida. Mr. Lapcevic is with the VA Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Tampa, Florida.
authors.forename: Roger J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Casey
mesh_terms: D000359:Aftercare; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*