This is an incredibly important study, and the information from it needs to be spread throughout the primary care and VA medical communities. Diagnostic tests for this condition would never normally be done on adult veterans.
Up to 20 percent of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have experienced at least one blast concussion....
Many conditions associated with hypopituitarism mimic other common problems that veterans can suffer, includingpost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, explains study leader Wilkinson. However, unlike those other conditions, those under the banner head of hypopituitarism can be can often be well-controlled by replacing the deficient hormones. "This could be a largely missed opportunity for successful treatment," Wilkinson says.....
The researchers found that about 42 percent of these veterans showed abnormally low levels of at least one of these hormones. The most common low hormone was human growth hormone, which can cause behavioral and cognitive symptoms similar to PTSD and depression, along with increases in blood lipids and changes in metabolism and blood pressure that can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke...
Wilkinson adds that many veterans who suffer blast injuries may never see an endocrinologist - and a neurologist or a psychiatrist, whom they're more likely to see for post-concussion follow-up, is unlikely to screen for hormonal deficiencies. Because low hormone levels can often be successfully treated, he says, it's a missed opportunity to help veterans.