Cardiovascular disease has the potential to lead to sudden in-flight incapacitation and permanent grounding. The aims of this study are to examine the relationships between lifestyle, job stress and blood lipid levels of male aircrew personnel of a Korean airline and to identify which factors influence their hyperlipidemia.

Two hundred sixteen male aircrew personnel completed a questionnaire by self-report and consented to participate in the study. The questionnaire collected data related to job stress, life style, serum cholesterol levels and general characteristics of the aircrew. The cholesterol levels of the subjects were collected from their most recent health check-up records. Subjects were divided into two groups (the desirable group and the risk group) based on their serum cholesterol level, 200 mg/dl.

Mean age and marital status were significantly different between the two groups. More subjects in the risk group had habits of eating high lipid foods, while more subjects in the desirable group exercised more frequently than the risk group. In logistic regression analysis, after controlling age and marital status, types of working situation (domestic duty or international duty, odds ratio=.390, p=.018), diet (odds ratio=.429, p=.037), and exercise (odds ratio=.320, p=.055) were influencing factors on aircrew's serum cholesterol levels.

The cholesterol level of aircrew personnel is closely related to their lifestyle, such as lipid diet and exercise. The type of work situations, e.g. staying in an airplane for long periods of time or staying abroad, may influence these diet patterns and exercise habits.