Health effects and conditions effected by long term air travel
A paper titled, Changes in Heart Rate and Rhythm During a Crossover Study of Simulated Commercial Flight in Older and Vulnerable Participants, has just been published Frontiers of Physiology. The authors found that among passengers that are typical of elderly flyers (an increasingly common demographic of both flyers and flight crew – flight attendants and pilots) […]
Secondhand tobacco smoke (SHTS) is a tremendous public health hazard, leading to morbidity and premature mortality worldwide, with racial and ethnic minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status disproportionately affected. Flight attendants were historically exposed to high levels of SHTS in the aircraft cabin. The health effects of active smoking are known to persist for […]
Eileen McNeely1*, Sara Gale1,2, Ira Tager2, Laurel Kincl3, Julie Bradley1, Brent Coull1 and Steve Hecker 3/10/2014 publications Abstract Background: Few studies have examined the broad health effects of occupational exposures in flight attendants apart from disease-specific morbidity and mortality studies. We describe the health status of flight attendants and compare it to the U.S. population. […]
Eileen McNeely, Steven J. Staffa, Irina Mordukhovich and Brent Coull 1/3/2018 publications Abstract Background: Flight attendants at Alaska Airlines reported health symptoms after the introduction of new uniforms in 2011. The airline replaced the uniforms in 2014 without acknowledging harm. To understand possible uniform-related health effects, we analyzed self-reported health symptoms in crew who participated […]
Haines, Michael John Abstract: Long distance flight is an entrenched transportation mode that has brought with it a range of issues and impacts on the human cabin occupants. Development of ultra long range aircraft allows a single airline flight to last more than 16 hours in flight time which will have added impact on cabin […]
We found the following symptom prevalence (per 100) increased after the introduction of new uniforms: multiple chemical sensitivity (10 vs 5), itchy/irritated skin (25 vs 13), rash/hives (23 vs 13), itchy eyes (24 vs 14), blurred vision (14 vs 6), sinus congestion (28 vs 24), ear pain (15 vs 12), sore throat (9 vs 5), cough (17 vs 7), hoarseness/loss of voice (12 vs 3), and shortness of breath (8 vs 3). The odds of several symptoms significantly increased compared to baseline after adjusting for potential confounders.
Eileen McNeely, Steven J. Staffa, Irina Mordukhovich and Brent Coull 1/03/2018 Background: Flight attendants at Alaska Airlines reported health symptoms after the introduction of new uniforms in 2011. The airline replaced the uniforms in 2014 without acknowledging harm. To understand possible uniform-related health effects, we analyzed self-reported health symptoms in crew who participated in the […]
Andrew W Correia quantitative analyst 1, Junenette L Peters assistant professor 2, Jonathan I Levy professor2, Steven Melly geographic information systems specialist3, Francesca Dominici professor, associate dean of information technology Download the article: Aircraft Noise and CVD admissions Objective: To investigate whether exposure to aircraft noise increases the risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases in […]
Download: McNeely_et_al2014_provisional Environmental Health 2014, 13:13 doi:10.1186/1476-069X-13-13 Eileen McNeely (emcneely@hsph.harvard.edu) Sara Gale (gale@hsph.harvard.edu) Ira Tager (ibt@berkeley.edu) Laurel Kincl (laurel.kincl@oregonstate.edu) Julie Bradley (juliembradley@gmail.com) Brent Coull (bcoull@hsph.harvard.edu) Steve Hecker (shecker@uw.edu) Background Few studies have examined the broad health effects of occupational exposures in flight attendants apart from disease-specific morbidity and mortality studies. We describe the health status […]