Effect of commercial airline travel on oxygen saturation in athletes.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Aircraft cabins are pressurised to maximum effective altitudes of 2440 metres, resulting in significant decline in oxygen saturation in crew and passengers. This effect has not been studied in athletes.

OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the degree of decline in oxygen saturation in athletes during long-haul flights.

METHODS:
A prospective cross-sectional study. National-level athletes were recruited. Oxygen saturation and heart rate were measured with a pulse oximeter at sea level before departure, at 3 and 7 hours into the flight, and again after arrival at sea level. Aircraft cabin pressure and altitude, cabin fraction of inspired oxygen and true altitude were also recorded.

RESULTS:
45 athletes and 18 healthy staff aged between 17 and 70 years were studied on 10 long-haul flights. Oxygen saturation levels declined significantly after 3 hours and 7 hours (3-4%), compared with sea level values. There was an associated drop in cabin pressure and fraction of inspired oxygen, and an increase in cabin altitude.

CONCLUSIONS:
Oxygen saturation declines significantly in athletes during long-haul commercial flights, in response to reduced cabin pressure. This may be relevant for altitude acclimatization planning by athletes, as the time spent on the plane should be considered time already spent at altitude, with associated physiological changes. For flights of 10-13 hours in duration, it will be difficult to arrive on the day of competition to avoid the influence of these changes, as is often suggested by coaches.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Geertsema, C (C); Williams, A B (AB); Dzendrowskyj, P (P); Hanna, C (C);

Affiliation: University of Auckland, Unit 9, 7 Cliff Rd, St Heliers, Auckland 1071, New Zealand. celeste.g@ihug.co.nz

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: British journal of sports medicine (Br J Sports Med), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Nov; vol 42 (issue 11) : pp 577-81

Dates: Created 2008/11/07;

PMID: 18070801, status: In-Process (last retrieval date: 11/9/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

No MeSH Headings found.

The article may not be MeSH Indexed as yet.

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

Adult patients with Eisenmenger syndrome report flying safely on commercial airlines. 10 Dec 2006
Food-poisoning and commercial air travel. 20 Aug 2007
Commentary: pulse oximetry during airline travel. 30 Jan 2007
Normobaric hypoxia inhalation test vs. response to airline flight in healthy passengers. 30 Oct 2006
Empirical evidence for the effect of airline travel on inter-regional influenza spread in the United States. 30 Aug 2006
Prevalence of fatigue among commercial pilots. 30 May 2006
Psychological factors in airline passenger and crew behaviour: a clinical overview. 7 May 2007
Trends in disruptive passenger behaviour on board UK registered aircraft: 1999-2003. 30 Jul 2003
The airline passenger: current medical issues. 29 Apr 2003
[Medical aspects of commercial air travel] 25 Jun 2006

See 100+ related articles.