Experienced, recreational scuba divers in Australia continue to dive despite medical contraindications

In Australia, a medical examination is required before undertaking a scuba diving course in order to screen for contraindications to diving. No further medical screening is required, and yet divers may develop diseases during their diving careers. This study aimed to survey experienced recreational scuba divers to determine the prevalence of diseases contraindicated in diving.

A cross-sectional, postal survey was taken of divers belonging to scuba diving clubs across Australia.

Three hundred forty-six divers returned completed questionnaires. Two hundred fifty-four (73.4%) were male, and 258 (74.6%) were aged 31 to 60 years. The mean years of diving equaled 10.6 +/- 9.18 years, and the mean number of dives undertaken was 414 +/- 740 dives. One hundred sixty-two (46.8%) divers were overweight, 45 (13.0%) divers required regular medication, and 39 (11.3%) divers smoked. Thirty-six (10.4%) divers reported a past or present history of asthma, and the same number reported hypertension or coronary heart disease. Eighty-six (24.9%) divers reported past or present psychological symptoms. Forty-two (12.1%) divers reported hearing difficulties, and 81 (23.4%) divers reported past or present tinnitus. Two divers had a past history of epilepsy, 2 had a history of pneumothorax, and I was diabetic.

Experienced, recreational scuba divers continue to dive despite medical contraindications. This raises the questions: Did the divers fail to disclose these conditions at the initial examination, or did these conditions develop subsequently? Is the risk associated with these conditions clinically significant, and should screening examinations be undertaken at regular intervals? The high prevalence of hearing difficulties and tinnitus may be the result of aural barotrauma and requires further research.