A Survey of prevalence and factors associated with low back pain in airline pilots

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the 12-month prevalence of low back pain (LBP) and to identify individual, flight-related and psychosocial factors associated with the prevalence of LBP in Thai airline pilots. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a self-administered questionnaire delivered by hand to 708 Thai airline pilots from those visiting the Institute of Aviation Medicine, Royal Thai Air Force for their regular medical examinations during July and October 2010. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to assess the associations between the prevalence of LBP and statistically significant factors. A total of 684 subjects (a respond rate of 97%) completed the questionnaires. The 12-month prevalence of self-reported LBP among airline pilots was 55.7%. Elevated risk of experiencing LBP was associated with occasionally to frequently encountering turbulence in the previous year, lifting luggage ≥4 times/duty period, perception of noise in the cockpit as being too loud and perception of work hazards at intermediate to high levels, assessed by the Job Content Questionnaire Thai version. On the other hand, the factors that reduced the risk of experiencing LBP were performing vigorous exercise regularly and having 5-23 hour rest time between flights.