VA Diagnostic Code 9410Other specified anxiety disorder

Other Specified Anxiety Disorder (VA Diagnostic Code 9410)

Understanding how the VA rates Other Specified Anxiety Disorder under § 4.130.

What This Condition Is

"Other specified anxiety disorder" is a mental health condition within the VA's Mental Disorders body system, identified by Diagnostic Code 9410. It is used when a veteran has significant anxiety-related symptoms that cause distress or impairment but do not fully match the criteria for another specific anxiety diagnosis.

Like other mental health conditions in this section, it is evaluated under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. This means the VA assigns a disability rating based on how much the condition affects your ability to function at work and in social settings—not on the diagnosis label alone.

How the VA Rates It

Under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders, the VA assigns one of the following rating levels based on the degree of occupational and social impairment and the specific symptoms present:

100% — Total Impairment

Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.

70% — Deficiencies in Most Areas

Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.

50% — Reduced Reliability and Productivity

Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.

30% — Occasional Decrease in Work Efficiency

Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events).

10% — Mild or Transient Symptoms

Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.

0% — Diagnosed, Non-Compensable

A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.

What the VA Looks For

When rating this condition, the VA focuses on occupational and social impairment—how your symptoms affect your ability to work and maintain relationships. Key factors that distinguish the rating levels include:

• The severity and frequency of symptoms (for example, how often panic attacks occur, or whether symptoms are transient versus near-continuous).
• The impact on daily functioning, ranging from mild interference only during stressful periods, to reduced reliability and productivity, to deficiencies in most areas of life, up to total impairment.
• Whether symptoms are controlled by continuous medication, which is specifically noted at the 10% and 0% levels.
• Specific symptom examples listed at each level, such as sleep impairment, memory loss, impaired judgment, mood disturbances, or thoughts of harming oneself or others.

The rating reflects the overall picture of how the condition affects your life, drawing on the symptom examples provided at each level.

---

This information is provided for general educational purposes and is based on the VA's rating criteria under § 4.130. It is not legal advice and does not guarantee any particular rating or outcome.