Fatigue and Associated Factors among Airline Pilots

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Fatigue and Associated Factors among Airline Pilots

Freier Zugriff

Hye Jin Kim / Yun Young Choi

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the prevalence of fatigue and its associated factors leading to the fatigue among Korean commercial airline pilots. Methods: An anonymous, web-based questionnaire collecting data on sleep related characteristics was completed by airline pilots. The final 1,029 samples of completed questionnaires were analyzed. The association of the risk factors with fatigue was determined using logistic regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of fatigue was 60% (Fatigue Severity Scale index≥3.2), disturbed sleep 28% (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index≥9), daytime sleepiness 17% (Epworth Sleepiness Scale≥10), and sleep apnea (Berlin Questionnaire≥2) 11%. The fully adjusted logistic regression showed that quality of life (odds ratio [OR]=0.16, confidence interval [CI]=0.11–0.24), daytime sleepiness (OR=1.26, CI=1.18–1.34), sleep quality (OR=1.44, CI=1.29–1.61), mental workload (OR=1.10, CI=1.05–1.14), vigorous physical activity (OR=0.82, CI=0.72–0.92), late starts (OR=1.25, CI=1.06– 1.46) and average weekly flying hours (OR=1.02, CI=1.00–1.03) were associated with higher levels of fatigue. Conclusion: Lower quality of life, disturbed sleep, more subjective sleepiness, shorter sleep duration, higher mental workload, less vigorous physical activity, frequent late starts, and longer flying hour were shown to be risk factors for fatigue in airline pilots. These findings should be taken into account in the development of sleep and fatigue countermeasures for airline pilots.