Drinking and flying - the problem of alcohol use by pilots

Article Abstract:

Alcohol is the most widely used and abused drug in Western countries. The cost of alcohol abuse can be measured in decreased production, crime, and injury, and has been estimated to be more than $136 billion annually in the US. A substantial number of accidents in general aviation (private noncommercial aviation) are related to alcohol abuse. An important article in 1963 demonstrated that approximately 35 percent of all general aviation pilots had measurable levels of alcohol in the blood. Although this study probably overestimated the incidence (since putrefaction of dead tissues adds to the estimate), other studies have confirmed a range of 10 to 30 percent. Alcohol is known to cause decreased motor control and changes in personality. It also reduces the ability to process and integrate the input of information, an enormous amount of which is required to fly in a three-dimension air-space. However, less appreciated is the effect of heavy drinking that continues to reduce performance after blood alcohol level has been reduced to zero. Specifically, the distortion of equilibrium (perversion of Coriolis acceleration) or vestibular mechanism has been demonstrated in a recent test of 10 Navy pilots. A study of 2,200 private and commercial pilots has shown that approximately 16 percent, the same as in the general population, engage in heavy drinking of the kind which could distort balance. These pilots also generally overestimate the quantity of alcohol that is required to reach a blood level that could directly impair their performance. Federal regulations and polices for illicit drug testing of pilots are also considered. It is ironic that although the rate of illicit drug use by pilots has not been shown to be significant, there is a current policy of testing, but there are no standard procedures for alcohol testing of alcohol before an incident occurs. The use of a microcomputer-based ignition-interlock device, which would require a standard level of performance before starting an aircraft, may be one means of reducing the problem. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Prevention, Causes of, Air pilots, Aircraft pilots, Drunk flying, Flying while intoxicated

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Maternal alcohol use during breast-feeding and infant mental and motor development at one year

Article Abstract:

The unfortunate side-effects of maternal alcohol consumption on fetal health are known. The effects on infants of maternal alcohol consumption during breast-feeding are undocumented. Animal research suggests that infants may well be affected by the alcohol they receive through their mother's milk. The effects of maternal alcohol consumption on breast-fed infants' development at one year were studied in 400 infants. Maternal alcohol consumption during breast-feeding appears to be unrelated to mental development. Development of muscle control was significantly lower in infants exposed to alcohol in breast milk. The problem worsened the more they were exposed to alcohol. This effect was more pronounced in infants who were only breast-fed, and remained even when over 100 possibly confounding factors (including smoking and drug use during pregnancy) were taken into account. It was concluded that a slight but significant detrimental effect on the development of muscle control in infants results from alcohol ingested through breast milk.

Infants, Breast feeding, Infant development, Mothers

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Suppression of alcohol-induced hypertension by dexamethasone

Article Abstract:

Alcohol appears to increase blood pressure by increasing sympathetic nerve activity and this effect may start in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. Researchers analyzed the effects of a 45-minute, intravenous infusion of 0.5 grams/kilogram of alcohol on 9 healthy people. One infusion was given after the subjects received 2 milligrams/day of dexamethasone and another infusion was given after they received a placebo for 48 hours. Dexamethasone suppresses the production of the hypothalamic hormone called corticotropin-releasing hormone, which also increases sympathetic nerve activity. Alcohol increased sympathetic nerve activity in the volunteers twofold and raised their blood pressure 10 mm Hg when they took the placebo. Following dexamethasone treatment, alcohol had no effect on sympathetic nerve activity and caused their blood pressure to drop slightly.

Blood pressure, Dexamethasone

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