To analyze the risk factors of neck pain in fighter pilots.

Cluster random sampled fighter pilots were investigated by a cross-sectional survey. The questionnaire included daily neck pain, as well as such exposure factors as personal general conditions, life styles and flight traing styles. The subjects with daily neck pain were constituted to the neck pain group and those without daily neck pain were selected as the control group. The differences in age, body mass index, lifestyle and training styles were compared between two groups. Then the risk factors were analyzed by a Logistic regression model.

Data of 429 fighter pilots were validated and were analyzed. The prevalence of daily neck pain was 30.1%. The differences on the proportions of age over 35 yr, sleep disorders, improper measures against annoyance, sedentary habit, more than 4 hours of consumer electronics watching per day, more than 2 hours of sustained monitor watching frequently, mattress too hard, long-term flight, vibration influence in flight, insufficient protection measures against + G_z load, and no massage relaxation after flight showed statistically significance between two groups (χ²=5.662~32.128, P<0.05). Totally 6 latent risk factors of neck pain were concerned by Logistic regression model. The descending risk orders of the factors were the age over 35 yr (OR=11.397), sleep disorders (OR=3.013), improper measures against annoyance (OR=2.758), awkward neck posture during flight (OR=2.618), watching consumer electronics more than 4 hours per day (OR=2.192) and continuously watching monitor more than 2 hours frequently (OR=1.899).

The prevalence of daily neck pain in fighter pilots was comparatively high. Life styles effectively influence the invasion of neck pain in fighter pilots according to the study. Insufficient work and rest alternation and unreasonable emotion regulation would be the important risk factors to the daily neck pain in fighter pilots.

Neck pain; Risk factors; Epidemiologic study; Pilots