Effects of Secondhand Smoke on Flight Attendant Health

Cardiopulmonary Effects of Secondhand Smoke Exposure on Flight Attendants

This is a study on a population of flight attendants who were exposed to occupational secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS). This research will examine associations between flight attendant SHS exposure and development of respiratory illnesses, reproductive problems, and cardiovascular diseases.

The main hypothesis of this study is that exposure to the secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) in the confined workspace of commercial aircraft prior to the ban of cigarette smoking is responsible for long-term damage on the health of nonsmoking flight attendants. We will compare the data collected from our pre-ban flight attendant participants to age-matched, nonsmoking controls from the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) database. The results of our study should permit us to determine if SHS exposure is the cause of long-term increased cardiovascular morbidity and risk, as well as increased susceptibility to respiratory illnesses.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Never smoker flight attendants who began working for airlines before the smoking ban on aircrafts went into effect. Never smoker is defined as those with history of tobacco use of less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.
2. SHS exposure for at least 1 year while working with the airlines.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Less than 1 year of occupational exposure to SHS
2. Smoking more than 100 cigarettes over a lifetime