Pilots, flight attendants and flight attendants are at double the risk of melanoma. This rare, but serious form of skin cancer is favored by their massive exposure to UV rays.
Often envied for their countless trips, airline employees are not the luckiest. According to a study published in the JAMA Dermatology, they are more likely to develop melanoma than the general population. And it is their working conditions that are responsible for this.
A risk related to flight hours
A team from the University of California at San Francisco (United States) carried out a meta-analysis of the medical literature. They selected 19 studies, including a total of 266,000 people, to determine whether UV exposure in airplanes impacts the risk of skin cancer in flight personnel.
The analysis showed that all but one of the publications established an increased risk of melanoma in pilots, flight attendants and flight attendants. On average, it is doubled, and the more hours employees fly, the more likely they are to develop melanoma.
Massive UV exposure
The first culprits of this increased risk are, not surprisingly, ultraviolet rays. The flight crew are exposed to it through the windshield, in the cockpit, and the portholes. These glass panes “seem to block UVA rays at a minimal level”, observe the researchers. The altitude is also responsible: most airliners fly at 9,000 m, a height at which “the levels of ultraviolet radiation are approximately twice as high as on the ground. Not to mention the clouds, often flown over by devices, which can reflect up to 85% of UV rays back to space.
Recognize the danger
According to Dr Martina Sanlorenzo, who led the research, these findings “have important implications for occupational medicine and the protection of this occupational group. Indeed, ionizing radiations (X-rays, gamma, etc.) from space are particularly monitored. But, while they are recognized as a major risk factor for skin cancer, UV rays are not considered to be a danger to pilots, flight attendants and flight attendants. However, as we know, UV rays damage skin cells and promote the development of melanoma. These cancerous lesions of the skin are rare, but they are also the most dangerous.
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