WAIVERS FOR DISQUALIFYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS IN US NAVAL AVIATION PERSONNEL

In the United States Navy, many diagnoses are considered disqualifying for aviation duty, but aircrew may be ''waived'' to return to flight duties after resolution of the disease or appropriate treatment of the condition. Personnel with waivers are usually subject to more frequen t physical examinations and/or special diagnostic procedures. Although the Naval Aerospace and Operational Medical Institute promulgates wri tten aeromedical guidelines as to which diseases may be waived and whi ch may not, waivers are granted on a case-by-case basis considering no t only the diagnosis, but the age, experience, and type of aviation du ty of the individual in question. This study was undertaken to determi ne which conditions were most and least likely to be waived. We review ed all records of aviators entered into the Naval Aviation Medical Dat a Retrieval System who had been diagnosed with a condition considered disqualifying for aviation duty, totaling over 39,000 records. cases w ere stratified by diagnosis and aviation duty, and the percentage waiv ed was calculated for major diagnostic groups. Among designated aviati on personnel, approximately 68% of all aviators with a disqualifying d iagnosis were recommended for a waiver. Otolaryngologic, musculoskelet al, and cardiovascular disorders accounted for nearly 50% of diagnoses in personnel recommended for a waiver. Fear of flying, personality di sorders, and adjustment disorders were the three diagnoses least likel y to be granted a waiver. The most frequently occurring disqualifying diagnoses were allergic rhinitis, obesity, disorders of refraction and accommodation, urolithiasis, and alcohol dependence.