Chronic Physical and Mental Health Conditions Associated with Employment Status in Veterans

Introduction Veterans commonly experience both poor health and employment difficulty. However, the research examining potential relationships between chronic physical and mental health conditions and employment in veterans has important limitations. This study examines those potential relationships using large-scale, nationally representative data. Our hypothesis was that veterans experiencing these conditions would be less likely to be employed than veterans without the conditions and, further, that there may be differences in these relationships when comparing male veterans to female veterans. Methods We conducted a pooled cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative data from the 2004-2019 administrations of the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey, which had items addressing health conditions, employment, and military experience. We assessed the relationship between health conditions and employment using multivariate logistic regression. Control variables included demographics, socioeconomic status, family size, and survey year. Results Veterans experiencing diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, emphysema, arthritis, serious hearing loss, poor self-reported mental health, poor self-reported physical health, depression, or psychological distress were less likely to be employed then veterans without those conditions, even after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Veterans with diabetes had 25% lesser odds of being employed as veterans without the condition (95% CI, 0.65-0.85). Veterans with increased likelihood of depression had 35% lesser odds of being employed compared to veterans without depression (95% CI, 0.52-0.81). Conclusions This study adds evidence to our understanding of role of chronic health conditions in employment status of veterans. The results support arguments for programs that aid veterans with both their health and their employment.