Effect of flight variables on sleep disorders and fatigue in aviation

Aim: In this study, it was aimed to determine the sleep complaints, sleep respiration disorder, sleepiness and perceived fatigue levels of pilots, and evaluate the effects of Small Medium Haul and Long Haul flight on sleep and fatigue. Method: 343 pilots who applied to Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University Faculty of Medicine, Atakent Hospital Neurology Department between July 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, and who carried out national and international flights under the Association of Civil Aviation Pilots were included in this study. Pilots were invited by one-to-one interviews and e-mail. JSS was used to evaluate sleep problems, ESS to evaluate sleepiness, FSS as a fatigue screening questionnaire, and BQ to evaluate the risk of sleep apnea. Results: Fatigue severity of 28.0% (n = 96) of the participants is high, 29.7% (n = 102) of them have more sleep problems, 6.1% (n = 21) of them have more daytime sleepiness, 11.7% (n = 40) of them have high risk of sleep apnea. The small medium haul group is statistically significantly older, the time spent in the profession is more and more often captains, the long haul group consumes statistically significantly more frequent coffee and has more frequent sleep problems. Fligt time, sleep deprivation, JSS score, ESS score and sleep apnea risk of the group with high fatigue severity are statistically significantly higher. Pilots with more sleep problems statistically significantly higher number of sleep deprivation days and FSS score. The group with more daytime sleepinees was statistically significantly lower in terms of age, time spent in the profession, and captain frequency, while BMI, duration of sleep latency, and risk of sleep apnea were statistically significantly higher. BMI, flight time, sleep deficiency, FSS score and ESS score of the group with high risk of sleep apnea were statistically significantly higher. Conclusion: Fatigue severity, sleep problems, daytime sleepiness and sleep apnea risk are related. The long flight time and lack of sleep affect these variables. Keywords: Aviation, Fatigue Severity, Sleep Problems, Daytime Sleepiness, Sleep Apnea Risk