United States Department of Transportation
i
Gender Differences in a Refractive Surgery Population of Civilian Aviators: Final Report
-
2000-07-01
[PDF-276.07 KB]
Details:
-
Creators:
-
Corporate Creators:
-
Corporate Contributors:
-
Subject/TRT Terms:
-
Publication/ Report Number:
-
Resource Type:
-
Geographical Coverage:
-
Edition:Final report
-
Corporate Publisher:
-
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.
-
Format:
-
Funding:
-
Collection(s):
-
Main Document Checksum:
-
Download URL:
-
File Type:
