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Related Experiment Videos

Plasma catecholamines in some airline passengers.

O Ekeberg1, B B Ellertsen, I Seeberg

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Ullevaal University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation
|April 1, 1989
PubMed
Summary

In-flight plasma catecholamines, particularly adrenaline, were elevated in some passengers, regardless of flight phobia treatment. While treatment did not show group differences, adrenaline levels decreased post-flight for treated passengers.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychophysiology
  • Neuroendocrinology

Background:

  • Flight anxiety is a common issue.
  • Flying may induce physiological stress responses, including elevated plasma catecholamines.
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is used to treat flight phobia.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare in-flight plasma catecholamine levels between ordinary passengers and those treated for flight phobia.
  • To investigate the physiological stress response to air travel.

Main Methods:

  • Plasma catecholamine levels (adrenaline and noradrenaline) were measured in two groups of passengers during flight.
  • Group 1: Ordinary passengers (n=15).
  • Group 2: Passengers treated for flight phobia (n=13).
  • Post-flight measurements were also taken for Group 2.

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Main Results:

  • No significant difference in catecholamine levels was found between the two groups.
  • A substantial proportion of passengers in both groups exhibited elevated in-flight plasma adrenaline levels.
  • Treated passengers (Group 2) showed a significant decrease in plasma adrenaline (50%) and noradrenaline (24%) from in-flight to post-flight levels.
  • In-flight plasma noradrenaline levels were not elevated compared to normal resting levels.

Conclusions:

  • In-flight plasma catecholamines, especially adrenaline, appear elevated in a subset of airline passengers, potentially due to fear or the act of flying itself.
  • While CBT for flight phobia did not result in statistically significant group differences in this study, the observed post-flight reduction in catecholamines suggests a potential benefit.
  • Further research is needed to differentiate between stress induced by fear versus the physiological act of flying.