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Research Highlights
VA Study Finds Gulf War Veterans Do Not Have Objective Abnormalties on Cognitive Tests
Taken from the Veterans Health Administration Highlights dated March 24, 2003
VA researchers evaluated olfactory identification performance and neuropsychological functioning in 72 Gulf War veterans and 33 non-deployed veterans to examine associations of neurocognitive performance and self-reported cognitive symptoms to combat stress exposure and psychological distress. The veterans were studied for the fourth time in 2000 (also in 1992, 1993, and 1995-96).
Five cognitive symptoms that were evaluated included difficulty with new learning; blank spots in memory; confusion; forgetfulness; and difficulty concentrating. Gulf War veterans reported significantly higher rates of each of the five cognitive symptoms. In Gulf War veterans only, the total number of reported symptoms was significantly associated with the reported levels of combat stress exposure; the number of depression symptoms; and the severity of PTSD symptoms. Psychiatric disorders were diagnosed with the Structural Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the gold standard.
Twenty-eight of the 72 Gulf War veterans (39%) were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders, compared with 3 of 33 non-deployed veterans (9%). Gulf War veterans were diagnosed with PTSD at significantly higher rates (15% vs. 0%) and they were also diagnosed with depressive and anxiety disorders more frequently.
Gulf War veterans and non-deployed veterans showed no significant differences on the olfactory identification test or on any of 11 neurocognitive tests. In Gulf War veterans only, two neurocognitive tests were significantly associated with severity of PTSD symptoms.
The article, titled "Olfactory Functioning in Gulf-War-ear Veterans: Relationships to War-Zone Duty, Self-Reported Hazards Exposures, and Psychological Distress," was published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, March 2003.
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