Leading causes of death among U.S. veterans from 2019 to 2021

In 2021, the leading causes of death among veterans in the United States were heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19. Heart disease and cancer account for the majority of deaths among U.S. veterans, which is also true for people in the United States in general.

The leading causes of death among veterans vs the U.S. as a whole

Although the leading causes of death for U.S. veterans are similar to the overall leading causes of death in the United States, there are some differences. For example, even though heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death for the entire United States and veterans specifically, death rates for both heart disease and cancer are much higher among veterans. In 2021, the death rate for heart disease among veterans was 267 per 100,000 population, compared to an overall rate of 167 per 100,000 population for the United States in 2022. Another clear difference is that while suicide was the seventh leading cause of death among veterans in 2021, it was not even among the leading ten causes of death for the United States as a whole.

Suicide among veterans

Given the stressful and often dangerous work of U.S. military personnel, the mental health of U.S. veterans remains a prevalent issue. In 2021, it was estimated that around 10 percent of U.S. veterans had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, while three percent made suicide plans, and two percent attempted suicide. That year there were around 6,392 suicide deaths among veterans in the United States. Veterans suffering from substance use disorders or mental health conditions are much more likely to die from suicide than veterans who do not have such disorders.