Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Reliable Method for Assessing Seed Germination, Dormancy, and Mortality under Field Conditions
Published on: November 6, 2016
Mortality and Cause of Death in Younger Homeless Veterans
John A Schinka1,2, Katherine C Leventhal3, William A Lapcevic4
11 National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans, Tampa, FL, USA.
Objectives:
Increased mortality has been documented in older homeless veterans. This retrospective study examined mortality and cause of death in a cohort of young and middle-aged homeless veterans.
Methods:
We examined US Department of Veterans Affairs records on homelessness and health care for 2000-2003 and identified 23 898 homeless living veterans and 65 198 non-homeless living veterans aged 30-54. We used National Death Index records to determine survival status. We compared survival rates and causes of death for the 2 groups during a 10-year follow-up period.
Results:
A greater percentage of homeless veterans (3905/23 898, 16.3%) than non-homeless veterans (4143/65 198, 6.1%) died during the follow-up period, with a hazard ratio for risk of death of 2.9. The mean age at death (52.3 years) for homeless veterans was approximately 1 year younger than that of non-homeless veterans (53.2 years). Most deaths among homeless veterans (3431/3905, 87.9%) and non-homeless veterans (3725/4143, 89.9%) were attributed to 7 cause-of-death categories in the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (cardiovascular system; neoplasm; external cause; digestive system; respiratory system; infectious disease; and endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases). Death by violence was rare but was associated with a significantly higher risk among homeless veterans than among non-homeless veterans (suicide hazard ratio = 2.7; homicide hazard ratio = 7.6).
Conclusions:
Younger and middle-aged homeless veterans had higher mortality rates than those of their non-homeless veteran peers. Our results indicate that homelessness substantially increases mortality risk in veterans throughout the adult age range. Health assessment would be valuable for assessing the mortality risk among homeless veterans regardless of age.
More Related Videos
06:55Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting Propensity Score using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index
Published on: January 8, 2020
02:32Author Spotlight: Novel Intraperitoneal Injection Method for Zebrafish Cardiotoxicity Models
Published on: March 29, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Autophagic Cell Death
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and...
Overview of Cell Death
Cell death was observed in the early 19th century, but there was no experimental evidence to prove it. In 1842, Carl Vogt first discovered cell death in a metamorphic toad; however, it was not termed ‘cell death.’ Scientists discovered different cell death pathways only in the...
Fundamental Attribution Error
Stereotype Content Model
What are Viruses?
Negative Regulator Molecules