PROVIDENCE, RI — Homelessness is a persistent problem among a subset of U.S. veterans, and neurological and psychiatric conditions often play a role. A recent VA study sought to determine the incidence of homelessness among veterans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
Researchers from the Providence VAMC and Brown University School of Public Health in Providence used VA administrative records to identify patients with a new ADRD diagnosis at any point between 2010-2019. In the report in the Rhode Island Medical Journal, the study team calculated the incidence of homelessness among those veterans, estimating the association between demographics, comorbidities and risk of homelessness.1
The study determined that the incidence rate of homelessness was highest for veterans diagnosed with ADRD between 18-49 years of age (14.9 per 1,000 person-years; 95%CI: 13.6, 16.3) and lowest for veterans diagnosed with ADRD at 90+ years (0.3 per 1,000 person-years; 95%CI: 0.2, 0.4).
Results also indicated that the adjusted hazard ratio of homelessness was higher for unmarried veterans and those with alcohol-use disorder, substance-use disorder, liver disease, depression, hypertension, lung disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychoses.
“Younger age and being unmarried at the time of ADRD diagnosis are associated with a greater risk of experiencing homelessness,” the authors concluded.
- Jutkowitz E, DeVone F, Halladay C, Hooshyar D, Tsai J, Rudolph JL. Incidence of Homelessness among Veterans Newly Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias. R I Med J (2013). 2021 May 3;104(4):20-25. PMID: 33926154.