Mortality Among a Cohort of U.S. Commercial Airline Cockpit Crew

Overview

Journal Am J Ind Med

Specialty Occupational Medicine

Date 2014 Apr 5

PMID 24700478

Citations 11

Authors

Lee C Yong

Lynne E Pinkerton

James H Yiin

Jeri L Anderson

James A Deddens

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: We evaluated mortality among 5,964 former U.S. commercial cockpit crew (pilots and flight engineers). The outcomes of a priori interest were non-chronic lymphocytic leukemia, central nervous system (CNS) cancer (including brain), and malignant melanoma.

Methods: Vital status was ascertained through 2008. Life table and Cox regression analyses were conducted. Cumulative exposure to cosmic radiation was estimated from work history data.

Results: Compared to the U.S. general population, mortality from all causes, all cancer, and cardiovascular diseases was decreased, but mortality from aircraft accidents was highly elevated. Mortality was elevated for malignant melanoma but not for non-chronic lymphocytic leukemia. CNS cancer mortality increased with an increase in cumulative radiation dose.

Conclusions: Cockpit crew had a low all-cause, all-cancer, and cardiovascular disease mortality but elevated aircraft accident mortality. Further studies are needed to clarify the risk of CNS and other radiation-associated cancers in relation to cosmic radiation and other workplace exposures.

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