title: Mortality from cancer and other causes among male airline cockpit crew in Europe.
abstract: Airline pilots and flight engineers are exposed to ionizing radiation of cosmic origin and other occupational and life-style factors that may influence their health status and mortality. In a cohort study in 9 European countries we studied the mortality of this occupational group. Cockpit crew cohorts were identified and followed-up in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Norway and Sweden, including a total of 28,000 persons. Observed and expected deaths for the period 1960-97 were compared based on national mortality rates. The influence of period and duration of employment was analyzed in stratified and Poisson regression analyses. The study comprised 547,564 person-years at risk, and 2,244 deaths were recorded in male cockpit crew (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 0.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.61-0.67). Overall cancer mortality was decreased (SMR = 0.68; 95% CI = 0.63-0.74). We found an increased mortality from malignant melanoma (SMR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.15-2.67) and a reduced mortality from lung cancer (SMR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.44-0.62). No consistent association between employment period or duration and cancer mortality was observed. A low cardiovascular mortality and an increased mortality caused by aviation accidents were noted. Our study shows that cockpit crew have a low overall mortality. The results are consistent with previous reports of an increased risk of malignant melanoma in airline pilots. Occupational risk factors apart from aircraft accidents seem to be of limited influence with regard to the mortality of cockpit crew in Europe.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany. blettner@uni-bielefeld.de
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blettner
authors.forename: Hajo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeeb
authors.forename: Anssi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Auvinen
authors.forename: Terri J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Ballard
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caldora
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eliasch
authors.forename: Maryanne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gundestrup
authors.forename: Tor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haldorsen
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hammar
authors.forename: Gaël P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Irvine
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Langner
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paridou
authors.forename: Eero
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pukkala
authors.forename: Vilhjálmur
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rafnsson
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Storm
authors.forename: Hrafn
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tulinius
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tveten
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tzonou
mesh_terms: D000060:Accidents, Aviation; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D017677:Age Distribution; D000401:Aircraft; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003359:Cosmic Radiation / Q000009:adverse effects; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000517:prevention & control; D015996:Survival Rate