| Title | Gender Differences in a Refractive Surgery Population of Civilian Aviators: Final Report |
|---|---|
| Record ID | 17673 |
| Personal Name Creator |
Nakagawara, Van B.; Montgomery, Ronald W. |
| Corporate Creator | United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration; Civil Aeromedical Institute |
| Corporate Contributor |
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation Medicine |
| Publisher | United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration |
| Publication Date | 20000701 |
| Language | English |
| Abstract | INTRODUCTION. Refractive surgical procedures performed in the United States have increased in recent years and continued growth is projected. Postoperative side effects can affect the quality of vision and may be unacceptable in a cockpit environment. The scientific literature suggests certain females (pregnant, menopausal, elderly) are more likely to experience complications and have less than optimal visual performance after refractive surgery. This study reviews the civil aeromedical experience with refractive surgery by gender. METHODS. A list of airmen with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-specific pathology codes 130 (radial keratotomy) and 5179 (general eye pathology with surgical prefix), during the period 1 January 1994 through 31 December 1996, was generated from FAA medical databases. The records of airmen with pathology code 5179 were reviewed and those identified as having refractive surgery were collated into a database with those who had pathology code 130. The records were then stratified by class of medical certification and gender, and analyzed using demographic data extracted from FAA publications. RESULTS. There were 3,761 airmen identified as having had refractive surgical procedures during the study period. The prevalence rate for refractive surgery was found to be significantly higher (p < 0.05) for female (8.74/1,000) than for male (6.06/1,000) aviators. Prevalence rates for all classes of FAA medical certification were also found to be significantly higher for female aviators. CONCLUSIONS. Higher prevalence rates for female aviators with refractive surgical procedures suggest that they view refractive surgery to be a more viable alternative for correcting refractive error than do their male counterparts. With the more frequent post-surgical complications for selected females with these procedures, further research is recommended to investigate the potential for operational problems in the aviation environment. Continued monitoring may determine whether there is an increased risk of performance loss associated with normal age-related ocular changes. |
| Rosap ID | dot:15399 |
| Rosap URL | https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/15399 |
| TRT Terms | Air pilots; Aviation medicine; Certification; Civil aviation; Databases; Demographics; Females; Gender; Pathological data; Surgery; Vision disorders |
| General Subjects | Aviation; vision; refractive surgery; aeromedical certification; occupational health |
| Geographical Coverage |
United States |
| TRIS Online Accession No |
929925 |
| Contract Number | AM-A-99-TOX-203 |
| Report Number | DOT/FAA/AM-00/23 |
| Resource type | Tech Report |
| URL | https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/17000/17600/17673/PB2001102918.pdf |
| Format | |
| Database | NTL Digital Repository |