Citation Nr: 18159513 Decision Date: 12/19/18 Archive Date: 12/19/18 DOCKET NO. 18-01 056 DATE: December 19, 2018 ORDER Service connection for dyslipidemia is denied. REMANDED Service connection for a lumbar spine condition, including chronic myositis para lumbar spine muscles, is remanded. Service connection for a cervical spine disorder, including chronic myositis para cervical spine muscles, is remanded. Service connection for degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the shoulders is remanded. Service connection for DJD of the elbows is remanded. Service connection for DJD of the wrists is remanded. Service connection for DJD of the hips is remanded. Service connection for DJD of the knees is remanded. Service connection for DJD of the ankles is remanded. Service connection for DJD of the feet is remanded. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. Service connection for tinnitus is remanded. Service connection for hypertension, also claimed as hypertensive cardiovascular disease is remanded. Service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is remanded. Service connection for prostate cancer is remanded. Service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, is remanded. Service connection for bilateral peripheral neuropathy of upper and lower extremities, including as due to diabetes mellitus, type II, is remanded. Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and memory disorder, is remanded. FINDING OF FACT Dyslipidemia (high cholesterol) is not a disability for VA benefits purposes. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria are not met for service connection for dyslipidemia. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5103, 5103A, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 1961 to October 1961. Service connection for dyslipidemia. There is no material question that the Veteran has, or has had high cholesterol. Unfortunately, elevated cholesterol in and of itself is not a recognized disability for VA compensation purposes, but rather, a mere laboratory finding. See 61 Fed. Reg. 20,440-20,445 (May 7, 1996) (diagnoses of hyperlipidemia, elevated triglycerides, and elevated cholesterol are actually laboratory results rather than disabilities, and are therefore not appropriate entities for the rating schedule to address). VA law restricts claims for service connection to that which involves a current qualifying disability. See Moore v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 211, 215 (2007), citing Francisco v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 55, 58 (1994) (“Compensation for service-connected injury is limited to those claims which show a present disability.”). Accordingly, the Veteran’s claim for dyslipidemia must be denied. REASONS FOR REMAND 1. Service connection for a lumbar spine condition, including chronic myositis para lumbar spine muscles, is remanded. 2. Service connection for a cervical spine disorder, including chronic myositis para cervical spine muscles, is remanded. 3. Service connection for DJD of the shoulders is remanded. 4. Service connection for DJD of the elbows is remanded. 5. Service connection for DJD of the wrists is remanded. 6. Service connection for DJD of the hips is remanded. 7. Service connection for DJD of the knees is remanded. 8. Service connection for DJD of the ankles is remanded. 9. Service connection for DJD of the feet is remanded. 10. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. 11. Service connection for tinnitus is remanded. 12. Service connection for hypertension, also claimed as hypertensive cardiovascular disease is remanded. 13. Service connection for GERD is remanded. 14. Service connection for prostate cancer is remanded. 15. Service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, is remanded. 16. Service connection for bilateral peripheral neuropathy of upper and lower extremities, including as secondarily due to diabetes mellitus, type II, is remanded. 17. Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and memory disorder, is remanded. Unfortunately, the remaining claims listed above must be remanded for additional development, including obtaining outstanding medical treatment records. At the November 2017 VA examination, the Veteran indicated that he received treatment for his lumbar spine condition back in the 1980s related to a worker’s compensation claim in Puerto Rico (Fondo Del Seguro Del Estado in Puerto Rico). Additionally, his private medical treatment records indicate that the Veteran sought treatment for his psychiatric disorder since 1984. See private medical treatment record dated September 2005. The Board further notes that the Veteran was awarded permanent total disability benefits in February 2001 by the State Insurance Fund Corporation in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. However, any potential medical treatment records used in this determination have not been obtained and associated with the claims file. As such, the claims are remanded to obtain these medical treatment records, which may be pertinent to the current claims on appeal. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the Veteran and request that he identify any outstanding private treatment records related to the claims on appeal, including private medical treatment records related to his psychiatric disorder since 1984. Request that he provide, or authorize VA to obtain, these records. 2. Also, to the extent possible, obtain any medical treatment records from the Worker’s Compensation Fund in Puerto Rico from the 1980s related to his lumbar spine disorder, and from the State Insurance Fund Corporation in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico used to determine the award for total disability benefits. Shamil Patel Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD N. Sangster, Counsel