title: Visual symptoms and G-induced loss of consciousness in 594 Chinese Air Force aircrew--a questionnaire survey.
abstract: A questionnaire survey was performed for the first time to assess the prevalence of visual symptoms and G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) due to +Gz exposure in the Chinese Air Force (CAF) to determine the effectiveness of current G tolerance training. Responses were received from 594 individuals. Among them, 302 reported at least one episode of some sort of symptoms related to +Gz, including 110 (18.5%) with visual blurring, 231 (38.9%) with greyout, 111 (18.7%) with blackout, and 49 (8.2%) with G-LOC. Incidences were most common in aircrew with 250-1,000 flying hours (53.6%) and were more prevalent in those with fewer on type flying hours (p < 0.001). The most common situation was reported between +5 and 5.9 Gz. The results indicate a fairly high prevalence of visual symptoms and G-LOC among Chinese Air Force aircrew. There remains considerable scope for +Gz education, particularly in the early centrifuge training and selection of rational physical exercises.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Aerospace Medicine, Chinese Ministry of Education, Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Sheng
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Yong-Chun
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Chang-Bing
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Yan-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Xiao-Ying
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xi-Qing
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D001359:Aviation; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D006112:Gravitation; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D018471:Hypergravity / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014474:Unconsciousness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D055815:Young Adult