The Board finds that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorder NOS and dysthymic disorder, are related to his military service due to aggravation of pre-existing conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms worsened during his second deployment in Iraq, leading to an increase in anxiety, anger, and irritability that were not present prior to the deployment. His pre-existing conditions (alcohol abuse and mood disorder NOS) likely exacerbated these symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety disorder NOS, dysthymic disorder
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 31, 2016
- Citation
- 1634332
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1634332.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for anxiety disorder NOS, depression, and PTSD. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or are related to his active military service.
- Granted
The December 2012 rating decision was reversed to grant service connection for an anxiety disorder, which had previously been denied due to a lack of evidence linking the condition to service. The new evidence provided by the VA psychologist in January 2012 established a link between the Veteran's military service and his current diagnosis of anxiety disorder.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeal for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's dysthymic disorder disability was productive of total social and occupational impairment throughout the claim period, warranting a 100 percent disability rating.
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