Psychosomatic Medicine 9:51-57 (1947)
© 1947 American Psychosomatic Society

Emotional Albuminuria in Combat

¹ W. A. Foote Memorial Hospital, Jackson, Michigan

The phenomenon of emotional albuminuria is investigated under combat conditions through frequent urinalyses in 388 combat fliers of four different combat squadrons.

The amount of albumin excreted under emotional tension fluctuates greatly but will follow a pattern which seems to be different in and characteristic for every individual. It is proposed that there is a relationship between this pattern and the individual's emotional personality, and that his "Emotion Score" can be computed from the average number of plusses over a given period of time. The possibility of classifying an individual in this manner is suggested.

Emotion scores in Air Corps combat personnel are independent from age, number of missions or length of overseas service. Officers, who undergo a more rigid selection, have a lower emotion score than enlisted men.

Through the author's participation in combat missions it was possible to investigate the period between take-off and landing. It was found that a combat mission represents a powerful emotional stimulus causing subsequent intermittent albuminuria, which will wear out, sometimes, over a period of several days.

There is a slight but definite rise in temperature at the climax of the emotional strain.

The relationship between emotional albuminuria and operational fatigue is discussed, but the information obtained from this investigation is not sufficient to permit conclusive statements.