Table 1.
Demographic and other characteristics of the study population.
| Aircraft category | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Fighter pilots | Helicopter pilots | Transport pilots | p-value | ||
| (N = 217) | (n = 114) | (n = 48) | (n = 55) | |||
| Demographic data | Age (year) | 36.7 (7.6) | 36.6 (6.0) | 37.2 (7.9) | 36.6 (10.0) | 0.901 |
| Height (cm) | 174.5 (7.8) | 174.3 (10.0) | 175.1 (4.2) | 174.4 (4.2) | 0.829 | |
| Weight (kg) | 73.4 (6.9) | 72.6 (5.6) | 74.6 (8.0) | 74.0 (8.0) | 0.201 | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 24.2 (2.1) | 24.3 (1.9) | 24.0 (2.1) | 24.2 (2.5) | 0.826 | |
| <24 (n) | 99 (45.6) | 49 (43.0) | 21 (43.8) | 29 (52.7) | ||
| ≥24 (n) | 118 (54.4) | 65 (57.0) | 27 (56.3) | 26 (47.3) | ||
| Smoking (n) | 112 (51.6) | 62 (54.4) | 29 (60.4) | 21 (38.2) | 0.055 | |
| Alcohol (n) | 69 (31.8) | 33 (28.9) | 18 (37.5) | 18 (32.7) | 0.557 | |
| Occupational data | Total flying hours (h) | 2197.4 (1563.7) | 2019.7 (1102.2) | 2324.0 (1722.9) | 2455.5 (2122.7) | 0.194 |
| <1000 (n) | 47 (21.7) | 17 (14.9) | 11 (22.9) | 19 (34.5) | ||
| ≥1000, <2000 (n) | 60 (27.6) | 41 (36.0) | 7 (14.6) | 12 (21.8) | ||
| ≥2000, <3000 (n) | 49 (22.6) | 30 (26.3) | 15 (31.3) | 4 (7.3) | ||
| ≥3000 (n) | 61 (28.1) | 26 (22.8) | 15 (31.3) | 20 (36.4) | ||
| Week flying hour (h) | 7.3 (7.1) | 8.16 (7.9) | 6.2 (6.4) | 6.3 (5.4) | 0.137 | |
| Low-weekly-hour (n) | 126 (58.1) | 71 (62.3) | 19 (39.6) | 36 (65.5) | ||
| High-weekly-hour (n) | 91 (41.9) | 43 (37.7) | 29 (60.4) | 19 (34.5) | ||
| Physical activity | Regular strength training (n) | 156 (71.9) | 84 (73.7) | 38 (79.2) | 34 (61.8) | 0.122 |
| Regular core muscle training (n) | 85 (39.2) | 49 (43.0) | 21 (43.8) | 15 (27.3) | 0.112 | |
| Pain location | Neck (n) | 54 (24.9) | 34 (29.8) | 10 (20.8) | 10 (18.2) | 0.199 |
| Upper back (n) | 20 (9.2) | 12 (10.5) | 4 (8.3) | 4 (7.3) | 0.768 | |
| Lower back (n) | 82 (37.8) | 41 (36.0) | 22 (45.8) | 19 (34.5) | 0.421 | |
Presented as mean (standard deviation) or as absolute values (percentages).