Clinical, biomarker, and research tests among US government personnel and their family members involved in anomalous health incidents

Abstract

Overview

Since 2015, US government and related personnel have reported experiencing symptoms like dizziness, pain, visual problems, and cognitive dysfunction after being exposed to intrusive sounds and head pressure. This phenomenon has been officially categorized as anomalous health incidents (AHIs).

Objective

The primary aim is to evaluate if the AHIs affected individuals show differences in clinical, research, and biomarker assessments compared to control participants from the US government.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This exploratory research was conducted at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center from June 2018 to July 2022. It involved 86 US government staff and family members affected by AHIs from various locations including Cuba, Austria, and China, alongside 30 control participants.

Main Outcomes and Measures

• Extensive assessments including clinical, auditory, vestibular, balance, visual, and neuropsychological evaluations.
• Blood biomarkers like glial fibrillary acidic protein and neurofilament light were tested.

Results

The study included 86 participants with AHIs (42 women and 44 men, mean age 42.1 years) and 30 control participants (11 women and 19 men, mean age 43.8 years). Despite the extensive testing, there were no significant differences between the AHI and control groups in most of the standard tests except for increased reports and measurements concerning fatigue, depression, posttraumatic stress, and imbalance. Additionally, a significant number of AHI affected participants displayed symptoms of functional neurological disorders.

Conclusion and Relevance

This exploratory analysis concludes that there were no significant differences in the majority of clinical, research, and biomarker measures between the two groups, aside from specific differences in imbalance and psychological symptoms. The study highlights the variability in effects of AHIs and the need for more research to understand this phenomenon better.