Aircraft vibration and other factors related to high systolic blood pressure in Indonesian Air Force pilots

AbstrakLatar belakang: Penerbangan dapat berdampak pada sistem kardiovaskular manusia. Penerbang terpajan antara lain pada bising dan vibrasi pesawat. Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh beberapa faktor penerbangan pada tekanan darah sistolik.Metode: Penelitian nested case-control dilakukan pada penerbang Angkatan Udara Republik Indonesia yang melakukan pemeriksaan fisik tahunan di Lembaga Kesehatan Penerbangan dan Ruang Angkasa (LAKESPRA) Saryanto tahun 2003–2008. Data yang diperoleh dari rekam medik berupa umur, jumlah jam terbang, jenis pesawat, kadar glukosa puasa dan kadar kholesterol darah, lingkaran pinggang, tinggi dan berat badan, tinggi badan, serta tekanan darah.Hasil: Dari 336 penerbang, terdapat 16 penerbanga dengan tekanan sistolik ³ 140 mmHg. Penerbang dengan rata-rata jam penerbangan 300-622 jam per tahun dibandingkan dengan 29-299 jam per tahun mempunyai risiko peningkatan tekanan darah sistolik tinggi sebesarf 5 kali [rasio odds suaian (ORa) = 5,05, 95% interval kepercayaan (CI) = 0,88 -23,30, P = 0,070]. Menurut jam terbang total, mereka yang memiliki 1.401-1,1125 jam dibandingkan 147-1.400 jam berisiko 3,6 kali mengalami tekanan darah sistolik tinggi (ORa = 3,58, 95% CI = 1,24-10,38). Selain itu, mereka dengan denyut nadi istirahat tinggi dibandingkan dengan denyut nadi normal istirahat memiliki 2,4 kali mengalami tekanan darah sistolik tinggi (ORa = 2,37, CI = 0,74-7,50 95, P = 0,147].Kesimpulan: Vibrasi pesawat terbang tinggi, rata-rata jam terbang per tahun tinggi, dan frekuensi nadi istirahat yang tinggi meningkatkan risiko tekanan sistolik tinggi.Kata kunci:tekanan darah sistolik, vibrasi pesawat terbang, frekuensi nadi istirahat, pilotAbstractBackground:Flight may affect the human cardiovascular system. Pilots are exposed among others to aircraft noise and vibration. This study aimed to investigate the effects of aircraft flight on systolic blood pressure.Methods:A nested case-control study was conducted on Indonesian Air Force pilots doing annual medical check-ups at the Saryanto Institute for Medical and Health Aviation and Aerospace (LAKESPRA) from 2003 – 2008. The data extracted from medical records were age, total flight hours, type of aircraft, fasting blood glucose and cholesterol levels, waist circumference, height and weight (Body Mass Index), and blood pressure.Results: Of 336 pilots, there were 16 with systolic pressure 140 mmHg. The pilot who had high vibration than low vibration had 2.8-fold to be high systolic blood pressure [adjusted odds ratio (ORa) = 2.83; 95%confidence interval (CI) =1.16-22.04). In term of average flight hours, those who had average flight hours of 300-622 hours per year compared to 29-299 hours per year had 5-fold increased risk to be high systolic blood pressure (ORa = 5.05; 95% CI =1.16-22.04]. Furthermore, those who had high than normal resting pulse rate had 2.4 times to be high systolic blood pressure (ORa = 2.37; 95 CI =0.81-6.97; P = 0.115).Conclusion:High aircraft vibration, high average flight hours per year, and high resting pulse rate increase risk high systolic blood pressure in air force pilots.Keywords: systolic blood pressure, aircraft vibration, resting pulse rate, pilot