HEALTH, SLEEP, AND MOOD PERCEPTIONS REPORTED BY AIRLINE CREWS FLYING SHORT AND LONG HAULS

The present study is part of a major questionnaire survey work environ ment and health of air crew in the Scandinavian Airline System (SAS) N orway in 1989. The 1240 respondents (response rate 83%) answered 250 q uestions about health, job-strain, well-being, sleep problems, organiz ation, and communication. The study charts self-reported incidences of health problems focusing on differences between cockpit and cabin cre ws. The study also evaluates possible effects of transmeridian and sho rt distance flying on health, taking into account gender, job demands, working conditions of the respondents, and aircraft design. Common pr oblems, reported by more than 30%, are dry skin, lower back pain, cold s, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. Pilots report least, while female cabin attendants register most problems. Crews flying long distance tr ansmeridian routes report more health problems than short distance per sonnel. Among pilots, irritability, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and l ow back pain are the most frequently reported problems. Cabin attendan ts more often complain of skin and eye disorders, digestive disturbanc es, and musculoskeletal pains. The study supports earlier findings tha t transmeridian air travel causes digestive disturbances, fatigue, and sleep disturbances in both cockpit and cabin crews of both genders. A mong female cabin attendants, there is a nonsignificant tendency of mo re menstrual disorders among those flying long hauls.