Table 3.
Pituitary Dysfunction and Cognitive Function in Blast Traumatic Brain Injury
| Cognitive Domain | Cognitive Variable | No Pituitary Dysfunction, n = 13 | Pituitary Dysfunction, n = 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premorbid intelligence: reading ability | WTAR raw score | 35.9 ± 11.7 | 34.7 ± 14.6 |
| Intellectual ability | WASI similarities (verbal) | 32.6 ± 6.2 | 27.0 ± 4.1a |
| WASI matrix reasoning (nonverbal) | 24.4 ± 7.5 | 24.2 ± 6.0 | |
| Memory: associative memory | People test immediate recall | 22.6 ± 8.1 | 25.0 ± 7.8 |
| Processing speed: visual search/complex | Trail Making Test trail A, seconds | 23.1 ± 5.7 | 28.7 ± 5.2a |
| Trail Making Test trail B, seconds | 47.9 ± 14.5 | 53.8 ± 12.2 | |
| Processing speed: naming/reading | Stroop color naming, seconds | 32.5 ± 9.1 | 51.0 ± 29.7a |
| Stroop word reading, seconds | 24.3 ± 6.7 | 37.2 ± 13.6b | |
| Executive function: alternating-switch cost | Trail Making Test trail B − A, seconds | 24.8 ± 13.5 | 25.2 ± 9.0 |
| Executive function: cognitive flexibility | Color word Stroop inhibition/switching, seconds | 70.5 ± 24.2 | 86.3 ± 30.8 |
| Inhibition/switching minus a baseline of color naming and word reading, seconds | 30.0 ± 18.8 | 26.5 ± 8.5 | |
| Word generation fluency | DKEFS letter fluency F + A + S total | 40.1 ± 12.9 | 28.8 ± 3.6a |
| Information processing | Choice reaction task median reaction time, milliseconds | 413 ± 38 | 473 ± 31a |
Worse cognitive function was seen in soldiers with pituitary dysfunction after blast traumatic brain injury (n = 6) compared to those without pituitary dysfunction (n = 13). Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation. See Supplementary Methods for further details on cognitive tests.
a
p < 0.05,
b
p < 0.005 (unpaired t test).
DKEFS = Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System; WASI = Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence Similarities and Matrix Reasoning subsets; WTAR = Wechsler Test of Adult Reading.