Military

One In 25 Airline Pilots Have Suicidal Thoughts

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: December 15, 2016 1:25 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 4:43 pm

Airlines keep somewhat careful tabs on whether pilots are drunk, as a means to support passenger safety and expensive planes. As it turns out, screening for suicidal tendencies might be a better idea. According to a new study 4% of airline pilots question, or one in 25, had suicidal thoughts in the last two weeks.

According to a paper published in BioMed Central

Hundreds of pilots currently flying are managing depressive symptoms perhaps without the possibility of treatment due to the fear of negative career impacts. This study found 233 (12.6%) airline pilots meeting depression threshold and 75 (4.1%) pilots reporting having suicidal thoughts. Although results have limited generalizability, there are a significant number of active pilots suffering from depressive symptoms. We recommend airline organizations increase support for preventative mental health treatment. Future research will evaluate additional risk factors of depression such as sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances.

And

One thousand eight hundred thirty seven (52.7%) of the 3485 surveyed pilots completed the survey, with 1866 (53.5%) completing at least half of the survey. 233 (12.6%) of 1848 airline pilots responding to the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), and 193 (13.5%) of 1430 pilots who reported working as an airline pilot in the last seven days at time of survey, met depression threshold–PHQ-9 total score ≥ 10. Seventy-five participants (4.1%) reported having suicidal thoughts within the past two weeks. We found a significant trend in proportions of depression at higher levels of use of sleep-aid medication (trend test z = 6.74, p < 0.001) and among those experiencing sexual harassment (z = 3.18, p = 0.001) or verbal harassment (z = 6.13, p < 0.001).

Airlines, it would appear, also need to do a better track of pilot sleep, and how pilots are treated