Korean J Aerosp Environ Med.  2018 Aug;28(2):23-29.

How to Evaluate Obstructive Sleep Apnea for Flight Crew

• Kwon YH

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a breathing disorder characterized by a secondary intermittent decrease in blood oxygen saturation concentration, increased respiratory ability, and frequent awakening due to obstruction of airflow through repetitive upper airway during sleep. In adults, it is known to occur in 2 to 4% of the total population. In the case of obstructive sleep apnea without treatment for a long period of time, there is a decrease in working productivity due to daytime sleepiness and concentration problems. In addition, there are several types of serious complications, such as anorexia nervosa, related diseases, metabolic syndrome, etc. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported a six-fold increase in the risk of aviation crashes for pilots with OSA. Based on this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is required to evaluate OSA on an aviation medical examination. OSA is an important issue directly linked to aviation safety. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the importance of the evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea in aviation medical examination and the evaluation method of OSA in foreign and domestic aviation medical examination.

Keyword

Obstructive sleep apnea; Aviation medical examination