title: Sickness absence and flight type exposure in flight crew members.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Shift work research has shown that the relationship between exposure to irregular working times and sickness absence may differ between working populations. Not much is known about the prevalence of sickness absence in flight crews or about the relationship between exposure to different flight schedules and sickness absence in this population.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between cumulative exposure to different flight types and sickness absence in flight crew members.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study population consisted of flight crew members from a 5 year historic cohort. Flight schedule and sickness absence data were obtained from company records. The association between the cumulative exposure to different flight types and sickness absence episodes of >7 days was determined using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Adjusted models were obtained by adding potential confounders. Previous sickness absence was added to compose the fully adjusted models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The records of 8228 employees were analysed. The fully adjusted univariate analyses showed that the numbers of medium-haul flights and flights with time zone crossings were associated with an increase in the odds for sickness absence. The fully adjusted multivariate analyses showed no significant associations between flight types and sickness absence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cumulative exposure to flight types was not independently associated with sickness absence in flight crew members when previous sickness absence was taken into account. Because sickness absence in the past can predict future absence, preventive strategies targeted at flight crew members with a history of high sickness absence may be effective.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands, KLM Health Services, 1117 ZL Schiphol, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Drongelen
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Body@Work TNO VUmc, Research Center on Physical Activity, Work and Health, VU University Medical Center, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: van der Beek
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Health-Works, 1412 GL Naarden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: G B S
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Penders
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands, KLM Health Services, 1117 ZL Schiphol, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hlobil
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands, KLM Health Services, 1117 ZL Schiphol, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Smid
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Body@Work TNO VUmc, Research Center on Physical Activity, Work and Health, VU University Medical Center, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands, crl.boot@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: C R L
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Boot
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D000401:Aircraft; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017132:Workplace / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Flight schedules; retrospective exposure assessment; shift work; sick leave; work schedule tolerance.