Military Service and Mental Health in Later Life

This study sought to determine if the self-assessed mental health of older, community-dwelling veterans differs from that of older nonveterans controlling for known demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical covariates of health and well-being. Participants are the older male respondents (65+ years) to the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (Round 1), conducted in 1996 (N = 1,068). In bivariable analyses using population weights, veterans were significantly less likely than nonveterans to report their mental health as fair to poor. However, when demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related characteristics were controlled, no statistically significant difference in self-assessed mental health was detected between veterans and nonveterans. Military service per se is not a risk factor for poorer self-appraised mental health in old age. Nor does military service confer protection from late-life deficits in mental health. Rather, mental health in later life is largely a function of an individual's health and socioeconomic status.