title: Age and Aortic Diameters in Pilots.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pilots are exposed to various physical and hemodynamic stresses during flight. Aortic dilatation may be one of the important consequences of flight-related stress. In this study, we evaluated whether or not variation in aortic diameter was associated with the type of aircraft and the age of pilots.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records of 87 jet aircraft pilots (JP) (mean age = 30.0 ± 7.0 years) and 65 non-jet aircraft pilots (NJP) (mean age = 32.63 ± 5.7) were reviewed. Echocardiographic diameters of the aortic sinus (AoS) and ascending aorta (AoAsc) were measured using standard echo probe positions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Aortic diameters were not statistically different between JP and NJP. Regression analysis revealed that the diameters of the AoS (R = 0.484, R(2) = 0.234, p < 0.001) and AoAsc (R = 0.514, R(2) = 0.264, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with age in the JP group. Whereas, there was not any relationship found between age and the diameters of the AoS and AoAsc in the NJP group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Jet pilots had aortic enlargement as they became older in contrast to the NJP group. Although the aortic diameters were not within the critical ranges in the JP group, these results could suggest that flight-related stresses might result in acute aortic syndromes in the long term.
authors.affiliation: Department of Aerospace Medicine, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Eskisehir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akın
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cengiz
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ozturk
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Kasimpasa Military Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aparci
authors.affiliation: Department of Aerospace Medicine, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Eskisehir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tolga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cakmak
authors.affiliation: Department of Aerospace Medicine, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Eskisehir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Suleyman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Metin
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Aviation Medicine Center, Eskisehir Military Hospital, Eskisehir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sevket
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balta
authors.affiliation: Turkish Aerospace Medicine Center, Eskisehir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sen
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration / Q000009:adverse effects; D000328:Adult; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology*; D004452:Echocardiography; D006801:Humans; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000070356:Pilots / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012850:Sinus of Valsalva / Q000473:pathology*