Is there need for change of health examinations for sea pilots?

Sea pilots must be capable of carrying out their work in all situations. Thus, they must not have any disease or defect, that could impair their job performance. By periodic medical examinations attempts are made to ensure their working capacity. In most countries these examinations are carried out by a general practitioner and they include only few if any objective laboratory tests. The aim of the present investigation was to study the effectiveness of the periodic medical examinations to find out in the population of pilots examined persons with health risks, especially risks for cardiovascular diseases. All the pilots examined were over 45 years old (n = 135, response rate 88%). Self-evaluation of health was carried out by a questionnaire. Blood analyses were made and chest X-ray as well as exercise-ECC were taken. The most common subjective symptoms concerned musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal systems; sleep disturbances were also quite common. The three most frequent diseases diagnosed earlier by a doctor were musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal diseases, and arterial hypertension. About 24% of pilots had a lower physical working capacity than predicted. The body mass index indicated at least 11% overweight in half of the cases. At exercise-ECG four pilots appeared to have an ischaemic heart disease and additionally eleven pilots had abnormal ECG. Over 80% of pilots had a serum cholesterol value higher than 5 mmol/l, and serum triglyceride values exceeded the normal value of 2.0 mmol/l in every fourth case. Serum glutamyl transaminase was pathological in over 20% of the cases, and serum glucose level in 8%. The findings by routine physical examinations were very few consisting of stiffness in musculoskeletal system, two cases of elevated blood pressure, two heart murmurs, varicose veins etc. In two cases an inguinal hernia was suspected. The current periodic health examinations does not seem to effectively prevent a person with possible health defect from working as a sea pilot. More objective tests must be included in these examinations and more attention should be paid to prevention of overweight, effective treatment of musculoskeletal symptoms, improving physical working capacity and helping pilots to manage their psychic stress.