title: Trauma-induced weight loss and cognitive deficits among former prisoners of war.
abstract: Former prisoners of war (POWs) from the Korean Conflict and WWII reporting confinement weight losses of greater than 35% (n = 60) and less than or equal to 35% (n = 113) and non-POW combat veterans (n = 50) were compared on WAIS-R and Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) Logical Memory indices. High weight-loss POWs performed more poorly than combat veterans on Performance IQ, Arithmetic, Similarities, and Picture Completion subtests, Witkin-Goodenough Attention-Concentration Factor, and WMS Immediate and Delayed Recall and more poorly than low weight-loss POWs on Arithmetic, Attention-Concentration Factor, and the WMS immediate memory measure. Low weight-loss POWs and combat veterans differed only on WMS immediate memory. Findings support the Thygesen, Hermann, and Willanger (1970) hypothesis that severity of POW confinement stress reflected by trauma-induced weight loss is predictive of long-term compromise in cognitive performance.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Service, VA Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 70146.
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Sutker
authors.forename: Z H
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Galina
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Allain
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000523:psychology*; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D010556:Personality Tests; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D014888:Wechsler Scales; D015431:Weight Loss