LIANG Jialin, WANG Lei, HE Mei, JIANG Jiahui, RAN Haixia, REN Qingjie, HE Lin, XIAO Lu, SONG Jia
Objective To find out about the role of occupational exposure such as electromagnetic radiation, acceleration load and mental stress in the pathogenesis of thyroid diseases in flight personnel so as to provide data for the research on aerospace medical care. Methods The physical examination and assessment data of 8 057 military pilots who rehabilitated between January 2022 and July 2024 was collected, the incidence rates of thyroid diseases were calculated, and the differences in incidence rates between groups of different ages, aircraft types, jobs and flight hours were analyzed. Results The total prevalence rate of thyroid diseases among these flight personnel was 46.54%, including thyroid nodules(41.16%), Hashimoto's thyroiditis(4.22%), thyroid cancer(1.96%), and thyroid dysfunction(0.84%). The incidence of the above thyroid diseases increased with age(Z=190.500, 6.433, 63.164, 15.979, 308.026, P<0.001, =0.011, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001)and flight hours(Z=109.791, 9.864, 60.778, 16.943, 209.829, P<0.001, =0.002, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001). Thyroid diseases were more prevalent in flight personnel of airborne early warning aircraft than in those of other types of aircraft(all P<0.05), and among service crews than among pilots(χ2=4.209, 12.489, 4.723, 6.009, 18.536, P=0.040, <0.001, 0.030, 0.014, <0.001). Age(OR=1.028, 95%CI: 1.019~1.037), accumulated hours of flight(OR=1.114, 95%CI: 1.088~1.142), aircraft types(OR=2.195, 95%CI: 1.337~3.606), and service jobs(OR=1.669, 95%CI: 1.109~2.239)were all contributors to thyroid diseases in pilots. Conclusion The incidence of thyroid diseases in flight personnel is high, and age, accumulated hours of flight, aircraft types, and service jobs can make a difference in the vulnerability to thyroid diseases in pilots. Occupational exposure during flight is an important cause of thyroid diseases.