Wu Alexander C, Donnelly-McLay Deborah, Weisskopf Marc G, McNeely Eileen, Betancourt Theresa S, Allen Joseph G
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Building 1, Room 1301, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Building 1, Room 1104, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Environ Health. 2016 Dec 15;15(1):121. doi: 10.1186/s12940-016-0200-6.
The Germanwings Flight 9525 crash has brought the sensitive subject of airline pilot mental health to the forefront in aviation. Globally, 350 million people suffer from depression-a common mental disorder. This study provides further information on this important topic regarding mental health especially among female airline pilots. This is the first study to describe airline pilot mental health-with a focus on depression and suicidal thoughts-outside of the information derived from aircraft accident investigations, regulated health examinations, or identifiable self-reports, which are records protected by civil aviation authorities and airline companies.
This is a descriptive cross-sectional study via an anonymous web-based survey administered between April and December 2015. Pilots were recruited from unions, airline companies, and airports via convenience sampling. Data analysis included calculating absolute number and prevalence of health characteristics and depression scores.
One thousand eight hundred thirty seven (52.7%) of the 3485 surveyed pilots completed the survey, with 1866 (53.5%) completing at least half of the survey. 233 (12.6%) of 1848 airline pilots responding to the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), and 193 (13.5%) of 1430 pilots who reported working as an airline pilot in the last seven days at time of survey, met depression threshold-PHQ-9 total score ≥ 10. Seventy-five participants (4.1%) reported having suicidal thoughts within the past two weeks. We found a significant trend in proportions of depression at higher levels of use of sleep-aid medication (trend test z = 6.74, p < 0.001) and among those experiencing sexual harassment (z = 3.18, p = 0.001) or verbal harassment (z = 6.13, p < 0.001).
Hundreds of pilots currently flying are managing depressive symptoms perhaps without the possibility of treatment due to the fear of negative career impacts. This study found 233 (12.6%) airline pilots meeting depression threshold and 75 (4.1%) pilots reporting having suicidal thoughts. Although results have limited generalizability, there are a significant number of active pilots suffering from depressive symptoms. We recommend airline organizations increase support for preventative mental health treatment. Future research will evaluate additional risk factors of depression such as sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances.
德国之翼9525号航班坠毁事件将航空公司飞行员心理健康这一敏感话题推到了航空领域的前沿。全球有3.5亿人患有抑郁症——一种常见的精神障碍。本研究提供了关于这一重要的心理健康话题的更多信息，特别是关于女性航空公司飞行员的情况。这是第一项描述航空公司飞行员心理健康状况的研究，重点关注抑郁症和自杀念头，研究信息并非来自飞机事故调查、规定的健康检查或可识别的自我报告，这些记录受民航当局和航空公司保护。
这是一项描述性横断面研究，通过2015年4月至12月期间进行的匿名网络调查开展。通过便利抽样从工会、航空公司和机场招募飞行员。数据分析包括计算健康特征的绝对数量和患病率以及抑郁评分。
3485名接受调查的飞行员中有1837名（52.7%）完成了调查，其中1866名（53.5%）完成了至少一半的调查。在1848名回复患者健康问卷9（PHQ - 9）的航空公司飞行员中，233名（12.6%）达到抑郁阈值——PHQ - 9总分≥10；在调查时报告过去七天内担任航空公司飞行员的1430名飞行员中，193名（13.5%）达到抑郁阈值。75名参与者（4.1%）报告在过去两周内有自杀念头。我们发现，在使用助眠药物频率较高的人群中（趋势检验z = 6.74，p < 0.001）以及遭受性骚扰（z = 3.18，p = 0.001）或言语骚扰（z = 6.13，p < 0.001）的人群中，抑郁症比例存在显著趋势。
目前仍在飞行的数百名飞行员可能因担心对职业生涯产生负面影响而在管理抑郁症状，却无法接受治疗。本研究发现233名（12.6%）航空公司飞行员达到抑郁阈值，75名（4.1%）飞行员报告有自杀念头。尽管研究结果的普遍适用性有限，但仍有相当数量的在职飞行员患有抑郁症状。我们建议航空公司组织增加对预防性心理健康治疗的支持。未来的研究将评估抑郁症的其他风险因素，如睡眠和昼夜节律紊乱。
