Comparison of characteristics of veterans with and without a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease
| Characteristic | Per cent of veterans with PD | Per cent of veterans without PD |
|---|---|---|
| Differences are significant for all characteristics (p < 0.001). Data were calculated from the 1999 VHA large national health survey of veteran enrollees. Items 1–11 were drawn from the core questionnaire (n = 887 775, of which 14 530 (1.64%) had a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease). Item 12 was taken from the insurance and utilisation module (n = 152 253, of which 2335 (1.53%) had Parkinson’s disease). PD, Parkinson’s disease. | ||
| (1) Age ⩾65 years | 76.26 | 44.04 |
| (2) Male | 97.56 | 95.18 |
| (3) Race | ||
| White | 83.42 | 72.74 |
| Black | 7.95 | 15.52 |
| (4) Employment | ||
| Employed | 10.08 | 35.17 |
| Retired | 65.86 | 43.10 |
| Unable to work | 22.44 | 16.55 |
| (5) Education ⩽12th grade | 64.47 | 53.60 |
| (6) VHA priority | ||
| 4 (catastrophic disability) | 8.71 | 2.64 |
| 7 (no disability: co-pay) | 9.31 | 12.77 |
| (7) Source of health care in past three years | ||
| VHA only | 42.23 | 34.94 |
| No VHA use | 3.15 | 14.25 |
| Dual use | 53.22 | 45.71 |
| (8) Planned future use of VHA | ||
| Primary source | 78.16 | 66.22 |
| Back up | 15.11 | 26.69 |
| Prescription only | 5.57 | 4.12 |
| None | 1.16 | 2.98 |
| (9) Takes no regular exercise | 57.77 | 35.89 |
| (10) Physical health worse than one year ago | 56.98 | 39.36 |
| (11) Emotional health worse than one year ago | 37.80 | 26.89 |
| (12) Enrolled in Medicare | 78.80 | 52.30 |
| With private insurance (no Medicare) | 4.44 | 19.13 |
| Rely 100% on VHA outpatient care | 45.07 | 33.16 |