Air travel and respiratory disease

Randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial of echinacea supplementation in air travellers

Objective. To identify whether a standardised Echinacea formulation is effective in the prevention of respiratory and other symptoms associated with long-haul flights. Methods. 175 adults participated in a randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled trial travelling back from Australia to America, Europe, or Africa for a period of 1–5 weeks on commercial flights via economy class. Participants took Echinacea (root extract, standardised to 4.4 mg alkylamides) or placebo tablets. Participants were surveyed before, immediately after travel, and at 4 weeks after travel regarding upper respiratory symptoms and travel-related quality of life. Results. Respiratory symptoms for both groups increased significantly during travel (P < 0.0005). However, the Echinacea group had borderline significantly lower respiratory symptom scores compared to placebo (P = 0.05) during travel. Conclusions. Supplementation with standardised Echinacea tablets, if taken before and during travel, may have preventive effects against the development of respiratory symptoms during travel involving long-haul flights.

Directly measured cabin pressure conditions during Boeing 747-400 commercial aircraft flights

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

In the low pressure environment of commercial aircraft, hypoxaemia may be common and accentuated in patients with lung or heart disease. Regulations specify a cabin pressure not lower than 750 hPa but it is not known whether this standard is met. This knowledge is important in determining the hazards of commercial flight for patients and the validity of current flight simulation tests.

METHODS

Using a wrist-watch recording altimeter, cabin pressure was recorded at 60 s intervals on 45 flights in Boeing 747-400 aircraft with three airlines. A log was kept of aircraft altitude using the in-flight display. Change in cabin pressure during flight, relationship between aircraft altitude and cabin pressure and proportion of flight time with cabin pressure approaching the minimum specified by regulation were determined.

RESULTS

Flight duration averaged 10 h. Average cabin pressure during flight was 846 hPa. There was a linear fall in cabin pressure as the aircraft cruising altitude increased. At 10,300 m (34,000 ft) cabin pressure was 843 hPa and changed 8 hPa for every 300 m (1000 ft) change in aircraft altitude (r(2) = 0.993; P < 0.001). Lowest cabin pressure was 792 hPa at 12 200 m (40,000 ft) but during only 2% of flight time was cabin pressure less than 800 hPa.

CONCLUSIONS

Cabin pressure is determined only by the engineering of the aircraft and its altitude and in the present study was always higher than required by regulation. Current fitness-to-fly evaluations simulate cabin conditions that passengers will not experience on these aircraft. There may be increased risks to patients should new or older aircraft operate nearer to the present minimum standard.

Essstörungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter

Eating disorders are included in the category of mental and behavioural disorders (ICD 10). They are among the most common chronic health problems encountered in children and adolescents. A total of 7,498 children and adolescents (weighted) aged 11 to 17 years answered the SCOFF questionnaire, a screening instrument to identify cases of suspected eating disorder. Parallel to the SCOFF questionnaire, further factors for possible eating disorders, such as the Body Mass Index (BMI), information on abnormal behaviour (using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ) smoking, sexual and body self-image assessment, were gathered to substantiate the results. In total, 21.9 % of the children and adolescents in Germany aged 11 to 17 years showed symptoms of eating disorders. With 28.9%, girls are more frequently affected than boys (15.2 %); this difference is highly significant. In the presence of almost identical initial values, the rate of subjects with abnormal SCOFF scores increases, starting from age 11 years, in girls as they age, while it drops in boys. Children and adolescents with low socioeconomic status (SES) are, with 27.6 %, almost twice as often affected than those with high SES (15.6 %). Migrants have an approx. 50 % higher rate compared to non-migrants. A 2.5-fold increase in the percentage of individuals with normal weight who perceive themselves as too fat is found among those with abnormal SCOFF scores. Individuals with abnormal SCOFF scores smoke more and report more frequently about sexual harassment. Because of the severity, the tendency to chronification and the protracted therapy of the clinically apparent disorders, effective concepts for prevention should be developed.