Lengersdorf Alexander, Post Janina, Guettler Norbert, Sammito Stefan
German Air Force Centre of Aerospace Medicine, 51147 Cologne, Germany.
Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Otto-von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Aug 16;13(16):2020. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13162020.
: The advancing technological developments of recent decades have also changed the stress profile of pilots of high-performance aircraft (HPA) immensely. Pilots are exposed to different gravitational (G)-forces and are only able to fly with anti-G suits that compensate for the physiological loss of cerebral perfusion by applying external pressure to the body, and positive pressure breathing during G [PBG]. The present study therefore aims to investigate long-term effects of PBG on the lung capacity of fighter pilots. In a retrospective data analysis (1972-2024), the clinical findings of all German military pilots were analyzed. In total, 1838 subjects were included in the analysis, divided into three groups: HPA with PBG, HPA without PBG, and fixed-wing aircraft. Lung function analysis showed that no significant decrease in FVC was found in the HPA group with PBG, but a decrease was found in the HPA group without PBG. FEV1 and FEV1/FVC decreased significantly in all groups. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the variables age and aircraft type were significant predictors of the changes in FVC and FEV1, but not for the Tiffeneau index. Our study showed that the lung function of HPA pilots who were exposed to both PBG and repeated increased G-forces did not deteriorate to a significantly greater extent compared with other pilots without these conditions; in some cases, it even deteriorated to a lesser extent. Overall, age has primarily been shown to be the predisposing factor for a deterioration in lung function parameters over time.
近几十年来技术的不断发展也极大地改变了高性能飞机（HPA）飞行员的压力状况。飞行员会受到不同的重力（G）作用，并且只能穿着抗G服飞行，抗G服通过对身体施加外部压力以及在承受G力时进行正压呼吸（PBG）来补偿大脑灌注的生理损失。因此，本研究旨在调查PBG对战斗机飞行员肺容量的长期影响。在一项回顾性数据分析（1972 - 2024年）中，对所有德国军事飞行员的临床检查结果进行了分析。总共1838名受试者被纳入分析，分为三组：使用PBG的HPA飞行员、不使用PBG的HPA飞行员以及固定翼飞机飞行员。肺功能分析表明，使用PBG的HPA飞行员组中未发现用力肺活量（FVC）有显著下降，但未使用PBG的HPA飞行员组中发现有下降。所有组的第一秒用力呼气容积（FEV1）和FEV1/FVC均显著下降。多元回归分析表明，年龄和飞机类型变量是FVC和FEV1变化的显著预测因素，但对蒂芬诺指数不是。我们的研究表明，与未处于这些条件下的其他飞行员相比，同时接受PBG和反复增加的G力作用的HPA飞行员的肺功能恶化程度并没有显著更大；在某些情况下，甚至恶化程度更小。总体而言，年龄主要被证明是随着时间推移肺功能参数恶化的诱发因素。
