ArticleBMC public health2018
Estimating the health consequences of flight attendant work: comparing flight attendant health to the general population in a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Does intermittent exposure to high altitude increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in workers? A systematic narrative review.BMJ open · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- Unmet Medical Needs Among Immigrants in Korea Before and During COVID-19.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Prevalence and risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal pain among flight attendants: A comparative study.Work (Reading, Mass.) · 2026Article
- The impact of workplace sexual harassment on health and quality of life outcomes among flight attendants: a two-wave longitudinal study.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Job Satisfaction and Health Problems Among Cabin Crew: The Mediating Role of Burnout.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Pilots' and cabin crews' psychosocial work environment in relation to mental health and fitness-to-fly safety behaviors: latent profile analyses.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Health Implications of Shift Work in Airline Pilots and Cabin Crew: A Narrative Review and Pilot Study Findings.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Musculoskeletal pain among South African flight Attendants: A cross-sectional study.Journal of chiropractic humanities · 2025Article
- Space radiation induces distinct senescent phenotypes: Implications for space travel.npj aging · 2025Article
- Estrogen signaling is necessary for the sex difference in simulated jet lag in mice.American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Article
- Prolonged flight exposure and its effects on sinonasal health among aircrew members.Saudi medical journal · 2025Article
- Cosmic Ionizing Radiation: A DNA Damaging Agent That May Underly Excess Cancer in Flight Crews.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Challenges and support needs in psychological and physical health among pilots: a qualitative study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Health consequences of exposure to aircraft contaminated air and fume events: a narrative review and medical protocol for the investigation of exposed aircrew and passengers.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2023Article
- Circadian Disruption and Mental Health: The Chronotherapeutic Potential of Microbiome-Based and Dietary Strategies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Fatigue and Sleep in Airline Cabin Crew: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Research gaps and needs for preventing worker fatigue in the transportation and utilities industries.American journal of industrial medicine · 2022Review
- Cancer risks from cosmic radiation exposure in flight: A review.Frontiers in public health · 2022Review
- Flight attendant occupational nutrition and lifestyle factors associated with COVID-19 incidence.Scientific reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFlight attendants are an understudied occupational group, despite undergoing a wide and unique range of adverse job-related exposures. In our study, we aimed to characterize the health profile of cabin crew relative to the U.S. general population.
methodsIn 2014-2015, we surveyed participants of the Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study. We compared the prevalence of their health conditions to a contemporaneous cohort in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2013-2014) using age-weighted standardized prevalence ratios (SPRs). We also analyzed associations between job tenure and selected health outcomes, using logistic regression and adjusting for potential confounders.
resultsCompared to the NHANES population (n = 2729), flight attendants (n = 5366) had a higher prevalence of female reproductive cancers (SPR = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.18-2.33), cancers at all sites (SPR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.73-2.67 among females), as well as sleep disorders, fatigue, and depression, with SPRs ranging between 1.98 and 5.57 depending on gender and the specific condition examined. In contrast, we observed a decreased prevalence of cardiac and respiratory outcomes among flight crew relative to NHANES. Health conditions that increased with longer job tenure were sleep disorders, anxiety/depression, alcohol abuse, any cancer, peripheral artery disease, sinusitis, foot surgery, infertility, and several perinatal outcomes.
conclusionsWe observed higher rates of specific adverse health outcomes in U.S. flight attendants compared to the general population, as well as associations between longer tenure and health conditions, which should be interpreted in light of recall bias and a cross-sectional design. Future longitudinal studies should evaluate specific exposure-disease associations among flight crew.
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