The Effect of Total Flight Hours and Others Dominant Factors on the Risk of Distress in Civilian Pilots in Indonesia

Background: Distress can reduce awareness and interfere with decision making. The aim of this study isto identify the effect of total flight hours on the risk of distress among civilian pilots in Indonesia.Method: This cross sectional study with purposive sampling was conducted on May 1-14, 2013 amongcivilian pilots undergoing medical checkup at the Aviation Medical Center, Ministry of Transportation,Jakarta. SRQ-20 with cut-off point 5/6 was used to measure distress, along with self-rating and anonymous,coping strategy and home stressor check list questionnaire. Data were analyzed with Cox regression withconstant time.Results: Of 209 pilots 13.4% pilots had distress. Those with total flight hours of 6000-12999 hours comparedto 59-5999 hours had 5.8-fold increased risk to be distress [adjusted relative risk (RRa) = 5.83; P =0.000].Meanwhile, those with total flight hours of 13000-29000 hours had 8-fold increased risk to be distressed.Those who had family tension had 2.5-fold increased distress risk (RRa = 2.47; P=0.006). Meanwhile copingusing religion could 51% decreased distress risk (RRa = 0.49; 95% CI = 0.97-1.06; P = 0.051).Conclusion: Total flight hours of 6000 hours or more and tension in family increased distress risk, onthe other hand, coping using religion decreased risk distress in civilian pilots. (Health Science Journal ofIndonesia 2015;6:17-22