The Answer Depends Entirely on Which Disease You're Counting

Among adults 65 and older, veterans have a coronary heart disease rate of 24.8% — compared to 14.5% for non-veterans the same age. That's a 71% higher prevalence in the group that, by most access metrics, gets better healthcare. The veteran health advantage is real in some places and a myth in others.

Key Numbers

• 24.8% of veterans 65+ have coronary heart disease, vs. 14.5% of non-veteran peers — the largest gap in the dataset
• 15.3% of veterans 65+ have COPD, vs. 11.7% of non-veterans the same age
• 33.3% of female veterans report 14+ poor mental health days in the past month, vs. 17.9% of male veterans
• Veterans aged 25–34 report depression at 26.7% — nearly 4 percentage points higher than non-veterans the same age (22.7%)
• 6.4% of veterans couldn't see a doctor due to cost in 2024, vs. 13.0% of non-veterans — a gap that has held remarkably stable since 2014

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Veterans Win on Access, Lose on Cardiovascular Disease

The cost-access gap between veterans and non-veterans has been one of the most consistent findings in a decade of BRFSS data. In 2014, 7.2% of veterans reported being unable to see a doctor due to cost, against 15.2% of non-veterans — a gap of 8 percentage points. In 2024, those numbers are 6.4% and 13.0%, a gap of 6.6 points. The relative advantage has barely moved in ten years.

That access advantage doesn't translate into equivalent health outcomes at older ages. Among adults 55–64, veterans already show a CHD rate of 12.5% versus 8.7% for non-veterans. By 65+, the gap widens to 24.8% vs. 14.5%. The COPD picture follows the same direction: 15.3% for veterans 65+ versus 11.7% for non-veterans. Better access to care and higher rates of serious chronic disease coexist in the same population.

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The Depression Curve Runs Opposite Directions by Group

Depression prevalence among veterans peaks in the 35–44 age band at 27.1%, then falls steadily to 12.2% among those 65 and older. Non-veterans show the inverse pattern at the extremes: 23.8% among 18–24 year-olds, dropping through middle age, then rising again to 15.2% at 65+.

The result is a crossover. Veterans aged 18–24 report depression at 15.1% — well below the 23.8% rate for non-veteran peers. But by 25–34, veterans are already higher: 26.7% vs. 22.7%. The gap narrows through middle age and reverses at 65+, where non-veterans report more depression (15.2%) than veterans (12.2%).

The mental health picture shifts again when broken down by sex. Male veterans report poor mental health days (14+ in the past month) at 17.9% — substantially lower than male non-veterans at 25.7%. Female veterans, however, report 33.3%, nearly identical to female non-veterans at 32.9%. The male veteran mental health advantage that dominates aggregate comparisons essentially disappears among women.

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Young Veterans Carry a Disproportionate Mental Health Burden

The 25–44 age range is where the veteran depression signal is hardest to ignore. Veterans 25–34 report depression at 26.7% and veterans 35–44 at 27.1% — both higher than every non-veteran age group in the dataset. Non-veteran depression peaks at 23.8% among 18–24 year-olds and never reaches 27% at any age.

The veteran depression disadvantage is concentrated in the 25–44 window, then narrows and reverses by retirement age. Whether that reflects cohort effects, the timing of service-related exposures, or something else entirely, the BRFSS cross-section can't say.

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Open Questions

1. Female veterans report poor mental health days at nearly double the rate of male veterans (33.3% vs. 17.9%), yet female non-veterans show almost the same rate as female veterans (32.9%). Does the male veteran mental health advantage reflect something specific to male veterans, or something specific to male non-veterans that makes them an unusual comparison group?

2. The cost-access gap between veterans and non-veterans has held at roughly 6–8 percentage points for a decade — through ACA implementation, COVID, and multiple policy changes. What would have to change to move that gap?

3. Veterans 25–44 show the highest depression rates of any group in the dataset, yet veterans 65+ show among the lowest. Is this a cohort effect that will follow today's younger veterans into old age, or does something change as veterans age that the cross-sectional data can't capture?