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Changing demographics and vision restrictions in civilian pilots and their clinical implications
Van B Nakagawara1, Ronald W Montgomery, Kathryn J Wood
1FAA-CAMI, Vision Research Team, AAM-610, P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125, USA. Van.Nakagawara@faa.gov
Background:
The Federal Aviation Administration guides policy decisions through the study of medical pathologies and visual disorders common to aviators. The purpose of this study is to examine demographic statistics present in the civil airman population, including vision restrictions, and their relevance to the clinical care of aviators.
Methods:
Medical certification data were extracted from FAA publications and databases for all civil airmen who were active on December 31st of each year from 1976 to 2001. Frequency and medical restriction data were delineated into 5-yr increments and analyzed to identify population trends for the 25-yr study period.
Results:
Although the total number of pilots has decreased over the study period (-17%), the population of male and female airmen holding first-class medical certificates has grown by 119% and 1,241%, respectively. The percentage of pilots > or = 40 yr of age has increased by 17%, and the average age rose from 36.8 to 42.3 yr. Additionally, the increase in near vision restrictions (13%) was more than double that of distant vision restrictions (6%) during the study period. As of 2001, 92% of all medical restrictions were vision related.
Conclusion:
The results of this study indicate that the increasing number of first-class certificate holders, gender-specific vision problems for female pilots, and the age-related changes in refractive error may present new challenges for eye-care practitioners tasked with advising aviators concerning the proper choice of refractive correction.
