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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in U.S. Veteran Health Characteristics
- Source :
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume 18, Issue 5, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 2411, p 2411 (2021)
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Racial/ethnic health disparities persist among veterans despite comparable access and quality of care. We describe racial/ethnic differences in self-reported health characteristics among 437,413 men and women (mean age (SD) = 64.5 (12.6), 91% men, 79% White) within the Million Veteran Program. The Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel test and linear mixed models were used to compare age-standardized frequencies and means across race/ethnicity groups, stratified by gender. Black, Hispanic, and Other race men and women reported worse self-rated health, greater VA healthcare utilization, and more combat exposure than Whites. Compared to White men, Black and Other men reported more circulatory, musculoskeletal, mental health, and infectious disease conditions while Hispanic men reported fewer circulatory and more mental health, infectious disease, kidney, and neurological conditions. Compared to White women, Black women reported more circulatory and infectious disease conditions and Other women reported more infectious disease conditions. Smoking rates were higher among Black men, but lower for other minority groups compared to Whites. Minority groups were less likely to drink alcohol and had lower physical fitness than Whites. By identifying differences in burden of various health conditions and risk factors across different racial/ethnic groups, our findings can inform future studies and ultimately interventions addressing disparities.
- Subjects :
- Male
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Physical fitness
Ethnic group
Psychological intervention
lcsh:Medicine
White People
Article
disease burden
03 medical and health sciences
Race (biology)
0302 clinical medicine
Ethnicity
Humans
Medicine
030212 general & internal medicine
veterans
Healthcare Disparities
Disease burden
business.industry
lcsh:R
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
healthcare utilization
Hispanic or Latino
Mental health
United States
Health equity
Black or African American
Infectious disease (medical specialty)
racial disparities
Female
business
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Demography
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 16604601
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....0b6b6cd92c886a200df31c7e12ea2160
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052411