Douyon R, Guzman P, Romain G, Ireland S J, Mendoza L, Lopez-Blanco M, Milanes F
Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Florida, USA.
J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1998 Spring;10(2):210-5. doi: 10.1176/jnp.10.2.210.
This study evaluated the hypothesis that homeless individuals would display higher levels of neurological deficits than non-homeless individuals, particularly in frontal lobe or executive functions. Eighteen acutely homeless, 15 chronically homeless, and 20 non-homeless individuals admitted to an inpatient psychiatric service received a battery of neurological and psychosocial measures. In comparison to non-homeless subjects with comparable levels of psychopathology, homeless individuals showed higher levels of hostility, prior criminal activity, and family history of psychiatric illness, but lower levels of depression. A positive relationship between hostility and neurological soft signs was observed among chronically homeless subjects. These results suggest that a substantial subset of nonpsychotic homeless veterans suffers from "occult" neurological deficits.
