Incidence of headache in aircrews

Objective To investigate the incidence of headache in aircrews. Methods The incidence of headache was investigated in grass-root aircrews using questionnaires. Results The incidence of headache in grass-root aircrews was about 10%.Tension type headache and migraine accounted for 90.5% and 9.5%,respectively.The incidence of headache was 18.8% and 36.5% in aircrews of helicopter and trainer aircraft,respectively.Heavy flying mission,mental load,headache-alleviating methods including rest,drugs and sports resulted in 42.9%,35.7%,84.9%,5.8%,and 4.7% of headaches,respectively. Conclusion Headache is a common disease in aircrews with tension type headache as its main type.Flying mission should be rationally scheduled and aircrews should be encouraged to alleviate symptoms by taking rest and participating in sports.