Impact of cabin pressure on aspects of the well-being of aircraft passengers - a laboratory study

In the European Project Ideal Cabin Environment a study on the impact of different levels of the environmental parameters, such as pressure, on the well-being of aircraft passengers was performed in a simulated aircraft environment. Each test with 40 different subjects, including those with relevant health concerns consisted of a pre-baseline, a simulated 7h flight and a post-baseline. The test design is described in detail as well as the achieved levels of environmental conditions. An analysis of oxygen saturation in peripheral blood flow (SpO2) has been performed on measurements by finger pulse oximetry. Subjects with cardiovascular or pulmonary health concerns did show significantly lower levels of SpO2 compared to healthy subjects. The probability of achieving a SpO2 level below a critical level of 85% was smaller 0.001 for all groups except for those subjects with cardiopulmonary problems older than 60 years