Effects of Secondhand Smoke on Flight Attendant Health (FAMRI)

Cardiopulmonary Effects of Secondhand Smoke Exposure on Flight Attendants

This is a study on a population of flight attendants who were exposed to occupational secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS). This research will examine associations between flight attendant SHS exposure and development of respiratory illnesses, reproductive problems, and cardiovascular diseases.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cardiopulmonary Disease

Detailed Description

The main hypothesis of this study is that exposure to the secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) in the confined workspace of commercial aircraft prior to the ban of cigarette smoking is responsible for long-term damage on the health of nonsmoking flight attendants. We will compare the data collected from our pre-ban flight attendant participants to age-matched, nonsmoking controls from the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) database. The results of our study should permit us to determine if SHS exposure is the cause of long-term increased cardiovascular morbidity and risk, as well as increased susceptibility to respiratory illnesses.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 592

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • San Francisco, California, United States, 94143
      • University of California, San Francisco

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

This is a cross-sectional observational study of flight attendants exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Never smoker flight attendants who began working for airlines before the smoking ban on aircrafts went into effect. Never smoker is defined as those with history of tobacco use of less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.
2. SHS exposure for at least 1 year while working with the airlines.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Less than 1 year of occupational exposure to SHS
2. Smoking more than 100 cigarettes over a lifetime

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Characterize the long-term effects of SHS on lung and cardiovascular function in pre-ban flight attendants	A spirometry test is performed by the Clinical Research Coordinator to establish the lung function of the flight attendant participant and medical assistants from the cardiovascular care clinic administer a 12-lead non-invasive electrocardiogram.	25 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Clinical Examination	The cardiologist performs a noninvasive assessment of the patient's vascular function, which includes a brief physical examination, blood pressure measurement, pulse, and oxygen level.	30 min
Characterize the long term effects of prolonged flight time and SHS on reproductive health	Flight attendants fill out the electronic Exposure Questionnaire prior to their appointments. Part of the Questionnaire is a section on reproductive health. The answers to these survey questions in addition to information gathered and saved in the local medical record system (APeX) during the clinic visit are used for analysis on reproductive health of flight attendants.	10 minutes
Characterize the biomarkers of SHS exposure	A 45 mL blood specimen is drawn from interested patients to be stored in the research lab as well as analyzed in a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) laboratory. Results of the blood analysis performed in the research labs, such as secondhand smoke biomarkers and advanced lipid biomarkers, will not be shared with the subject.	10 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco
• Collaborators: Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Rita Redberg, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 31, 2005
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 9, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 11, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): July 12, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 28, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 25, 2021
• Last Verified: January 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Lung function; Reproductive health; Cardiac function; Secondhand Smoke; Flight Attendants
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Heart Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Pulmonary Heart Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: 14-13934; FAMRI (Other Grant/Funding Number: FAMRI (Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute)); 146312 (Other Identifier: University of California, San Francisco)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No