Rafnsson Vilhjalmur, Olafsdottir Eydis, Hrafnkelsson Jon, Sasaki Hiroshi, Arnarsson Arsaell, Jonasson Fridbert
Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Iceland, Neshagi 16, 107 Reykjavik, Iceland.
Arch Ophthalmol. 2005 Aug;123(8):1102-5. doi: 10.1001/archopht.123.8.1102.
Aviation involves exposure to ionizing radiation of cosmic origin. The association between lesions of the ocular lens and ionizing radiation is well-known.
To investigate whether employment as a commercial airline pilot and the resulting exposure to cosmic radiation is associated with lens opacification.
This is a population-based case-control study of 445 men. Lens opacification was classified into 4 types using the World Health Organization simplified grading system. These 4 types, serving as cases, included 71 persons with nuclear cataracts, 102 with cortical lens opacification, 69 with central optical zone involvement, and 32 with posterior subcapsular lens opacification. Control subjects are those with a different type of lens opacification or without lens opacification. Exposure was assessed based on employment time as pilots, annual number of hours flown on each aircraft type, time tables, flight profiles, and individual cumulative radiation doses (in millisieverts) calculated by a software program. Odds ratios were calculated using logistic regression.
The odds ratio for nuclear cataract risk among cases and controls was 3.02 (95% confidence interval, 1.44-6.35) for pilots compared with nonpilots, adjusted for age, smoking status, and sunbathing habits. The odds ratio for nuclear cataract associated with estimation of cumulative radiation dose (in millisieverts) to the age of 40 years was 1.06 (95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.10), adjusted for age, smoking status, and sunbathing habits.
The association between the cosmic radiation exposure of pilots and the risk of nuclear cataracts, adjusted for age, smoking status, and sunbathing habits, indicates that cosmic radiation may be a causative factor in nuclear cataracts among commercial airline pilots.
航空飞行涉及暴露于宇宙起源的电离辐射。晶状体病变与电离辐射之间的关联是众所周知的。
调查从事商业航空公司飞行员工作以及由此暴露于宇宙辐射是否与晶状体混浊有关。
这是一项基于人群的病例对照研究，共纳入445名男性。使用世界卫生组织简化分级系统将晶状体混浊分为4种类型。这4种类型作为病例，包括71例核性白内障患者、102例皮质性晶状体混浊患者、69例中央光学区受累患者和32例后囊下晶状体混浊患者。对照对象是患有其他类型晶状体混浊或无晶状体混浊的人。根据飞行员工作时间、每种机型每年飞行小时数、时间表、飞行剖面以及通过软件程序计算的个人累积辐射剂量（以毫西弗为单位）评估暴露情况。使用逻辑回归计算比值比。
在根据年龄、吸烟状况和日光浴习惯进行调整后，与非飞行员相比，飞行员患核性白内障风险的比值比为3.02（95%置信区间，1.44 - 6.35）。与40岁时累积辐射剂量（以毫西弗为单位）估计值相关的核性白内障比值比为1.06（95%置信区间，1.02 - 1.10），根据年龄、吸烟状况和日光浴习惯进行了调整。
在根据年龄、吸烟状况和日光浴习惯进行调整后，飞行员的宇宙辐射暴露与核性白内障风险之间的关联表明，宇宙辐射可能是商业航空公司飞行员核性白内障的一个致病因素。
