Traumatized Soldiers Exhibit Evidence of Cognitive Changes

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appeared to be associated with attention deficits in soldiers with traumatic combat experiences one year after returning from Iraq, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System (MA, USA) and Boston University School of Medicine (MA, USA) studied 268 male and female regular active-duty soldiers who served between 2003 and 2006 to see whether neuropsychological changes occurred following their deployment to war zones. All the soldiers were given neuropsychological tests measuring response time, attention, and memory before and after deployment. One group of 164 soldiers was assessed both immediately and one year following their return, whereas a second group of 104 soldiers (which returned more recently) were assessed before deployment and then at a midpoint of 122 days after returning. The assessments also documented demographic and military information, risk factors for neuropsychological disorders, and combat intensity and emotional distress.

The researchers found that there was a significant interaction between time and PTSD symptom severity. Greater PTSD symptoms were associated with poorer attention in soldiers tested at one-year follow-up, but not in recently returned soldiers. At one-year follow-up, mean adjusted attention error scores increased by 0.10 points for every 10 points on the PTSD scale. Greater combat intensity was associated with more efficient postdeployment reaction-time performances, regardless of time since deployment, with mean adjusted reaction efficiency scores increasing by 4.8 points for every 10 points on the combat experiences scale. The researchers concluded from the results that only PTSD symptoms were associated with a neuropsychological deficit. Neither depression nor contextual variables such as alcohol use and deployment head injury were significantly related to neuropsychological outcomes. The study was published in the September 2009 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

"Recent findings reveal notably high rates of poor mental health outcomes among U.S. service members upon return from Iraq deployment. Our findings additionally highlight the neuropsychological consequences of chronic PTSD symptoms,” concluded lead author Brian Marx, Ph.D., and colleagues of the behavioral sciences division. "Although neuropsychological changes were not profound and, for reaction time, can be construed as desirable in the short term, their significance lies in the demonstration that psychiatric symptoms often reflect more extensive biological changes, including those affecting brain functioning.”

Related Links:
Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System
Boston University School of Medicine