Risk factors for cerebral small vessel disease in pilots:a retrospective analysis

PAN Bei; CHEN Dawei; ZHANG Jinlong; LIU Qiming; DU Wenjin; LIU Wei; CHANG Xinxin; LI Xiangsheng

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2097-1753.2024.03.002

Abstract：Objective Toinvestigate the risk factors of cerebral small vessel disease(CSVD)in pilots.Methods The clinical data of pilots who were hospitalized at the Air Force Characteristic Medical Center between January 2019 and December 2022 was retrospectively analyzed.The case group consisted of 72 pilots who were diagnosed with CSVD by MRI(n=72),while the control group was composed of 72 pilots who were selected randomly at the ratio of 1∶1 and showed no abnormality as confirmed by MRI(n=72).The differences in risk factors of CSVD and in flight factors between the two groups were studied.Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the risk factors of small cerebral vascular disease in pilots.Results White matter hypertensity(WMH)and enlarged perivascular space(EPVS)were more common in the CSVD group of pilots.There was a combination of multiple imaging subtypes,and there were far more risk factors in the CSVD group than in the control group.Single factor analysis showed that the total flight time and annual flight time in the CSVD group were longer than in the control group[1 875.00(517.50,2 975.00)h vs 1 000.00(368.50,2 200.00)h,P=0.027],[126.83(104.55,153.35)h vs 115.77(90.50,136.46)h,P=0.021].The proportion of smoking pilots and those of high-performance fighters in the CSVD group was higher than in the control group[22％vs 5.6％(x2=8.36,P=0.004)],[29.2％vs 13.9％(x2=7.05,P=0.029)].Binary logistic regression analysis showed that smoking(OR=3.304,95％CI:1.172～9.317,P=0.024),types of aircraft(OR=4.607,95％CI:1.596～13.298,P=0.005)and annual flight time(OR=2.699,95％CI:1.085～6.716,P=0.033)were risk factors for CSVD.Conclusion Smoking,types of high performance fighters and average annual flight time can impact the occurrence of CSVD in pilots.