Occupational Physical Demands and Menstrual Cycle Irregularities in Flight Attendants and Teachers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Grajewski, Barbara A. ; Johnson CY ; Lawson, Christina C. ; MacDonald, Leslie A. ; Rocheleau CM ; Whelan, Elizabeth A. ; Grajewski, Barbara A. ; Johnson CY ; Lawson, Christina C. ; MacDonald, Leslie A. ; Rocheleau CM ; Whelan, Elizabeth A.
• Description:
  Objectives Flight attendants perform physically demanding work such as lifting baggage, pushing service carts and spending the workday on their feet. We examined if more frequent exposure to occupational physical demands could explain why previous studies have found that flight attendants have a higher reported prevalence of menstrual cycle irregularities than other workers. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 694 flight attendants and 120 teachers aged 18-44 years from three US cities. Eligible participants were married, had not had a hysterectomy or tubal ligation, were not using hormonal contraception and were not recently pregnant. Participants reported menstrual cycle characteristics (cramps, pain, irregular cycles, flow, bleed length, cycle length) and occupational physical demands (standing, lifting, pushing/pulling, bending/twisting, overall effort). We used modified Poisson regression to examine associations between occupation (flight attendant, teacher) and menstrual irregularities; among flight attendants, we further examined associations between occupational physical demands and menstrual irregularities. Results All occupational physical demands were more commonly reported by flight attendants than teachers. Flight attendants reported more frequent menstrual cramps than teachers, and most occupational physical demands were associated with more frequent or painful menstrual cramps. Lifting heavy loads was also associated with irregular cycles. Conclusions Occupational physical demands were associated with more frequent and worse menstrual pain among flight attendants. The physical demands experienced by these workers may contribute to the high burden of menstrual irregularities reported by flight attendants compared with other occupational groups, such as teachers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Occupational Health Safety Urogenital System
• Keywords:
  Aerospace Workers Cross Sectional Studies Flight Personnel Lifting Menstrual Disorders Reproductive Effects Teaching
• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering ; DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  3-8
• Volume:
  81
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069086
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 2024 Jan; 81(1):3-8
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr Candice Y Johnson, Family Medicine and Community Health, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
• Email:
  candice.y.johnson@duke.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3794cd09ec39d3631f63648311f802ac5008eab06e9364d294bdd807d15bf522bbf5bcf43be457aa61d5b5e63b77fd7f551bc8d2a4870b682b8e3ceed69b5f05
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207632/cdc_207632_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 232.04 KB ]