Minoretti Piercarlo, Santiago Sáez Andrés, García Martín Ángel, Liaño Riera Miryam, Gómez Serrano Manuel
Occupational Health, Studio Minoretti, Oggiono, ITA.
Legal Medicine, Hospital Clinico San Carlos, Madrid, ESP.
Cureus. 2024 Jul 1;16(7):e63552. doi: 10.7759/cureus.63552. eCollection 2024 Jul.
Background Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of premature career termination in commercial airline pilots (APs). In this cross-sectional study, we sought to investigate the relationship between intima-media thickness (IMT), a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular risk factors in APs, focusing on overweight status and sleep quality. Methods A total of 140 male APs were categorized into four groups based on body mass index (BMI) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score: overweight poor sleepers (OW-PS), overweight good sleepers (OW-GS), normal weight poor sleepers (NW-PS), and normal weight good sleepers (NW-GS). IMT was quantified in the common carotid artery (CCA) and carotid bulb using ultrasound, yielding a composite IMT (IMTcom) measure. Common cardiovascular risk factors were assessed in all participants. Results The prevalence of overweight and poor sleep quality was 43.6% and 32.9%, respectively. The OW-PS group had significantly higher age, heart rate, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol compared to other groups (p<0.05). Overweight pilots, regardless of sleep quality, had increased IMTcom compared to normal-weight pilots (p<0.001). Age and LDL cholesterol were independent predictors of IMTcom in the OW-PS and OW-GS groups (p<0.05). Conclusions Overweight status, irrespective of sleep quality, is associated with increased IMT in APs, suggesting a higher burden of subclinical atherosclerosis. Interventions focused on reducing LDL cholesterol levels and managing age-related cardiovascular risk factors could be advantageous in mitigating the risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease in overweight pilots.
背景 心血管疾病是导致商业航空公司飞行员过早结束职业生涯的主要原因。在这项横断面研究中，我们旨在调查亚临床动脉粥样硬化标志物内膜中层厚度（IMT）与航空公司飞行员心血管危险因素之间的关系，重点关注超重状态和睡眠质量。方法 总共140名男性航空公司飞行员根据体重指数（BMI）和匹兹堡睡眠质量指数（PSQI）得分被分为四组：超重睡眠不佳者（OW - PS）、超重睡眠良好者（OW - GS）、正常体重睡眠不佳者（NW - PS）和正常体重睡眠良好者（NW - GS）。使用超声对颈总动脉（CCA）和颈动脉球部的IMT进行量化，得出综合IMT（IMTcom）测量值。对所有参与者评估常见的心血管危险因素。结果 超重和睡眠质量差的患病率分别为43.6%和32.9%。与其他组相比，OW - PS组的年龄、心率、总胆固醇和低密度脂蛋白（LDL）胆固醇显著更高（p<0.05）。与正常体重的飞行员相比，超重飞行员无论睡眠质量如何，其IMTcom均增加（p<0.001）。年龄和LDL胆固醇是OW - PS组和OW - GS组IMTcom的独立预测因素（p<0.05）。结论 超重状态，无论睡眠质量如何，都与航空公司飞行员的IMT增加有关，表明亚临床动脉粥样硬化负担更高。专注于降低LDL胆固醇水平和管理与年龄相关的心血管危险因素的干预措施可能有利于减轻超重飞行员患动脉粥样硬化性血管疾病的风险。
