The Prevalence of Spectacle Wear and Incidence of Refractive Error in USAF Aircrew

Abstract

A retrospective survey of 6,5000 active aircrew records was performed at 12 U.S. Air Force bases to determine the prevalence of spectacle wear and the incidence of refractive error. The data revealed that 27.4% of pilots, 51.5% of navigators/weapons systems operators, and 40.2% of other aircrew members were required to wear spectacles when flying. Of those pilots who wear spectacles, 12.4% require bifocals. The refractive data showed that myopia was the predominant refractive error, and that relatively large percentages of air-crew members had astigmatism of 0.75 diopters or more; e.g., 33.1% of pilots. Refractive data at the time of entry into the U.S. Air Force was clustered around emmetropia with a definite skew toward hyperopia. Keywords: Spectacle wear; Refractive error; Myopia; Age; Pilots; Aircrew; Navigators; Weapons system operators; Bifocals; Astigmatism; Hyperopia; Visual acuity; U.S. Air Force Academy; AFROTC; OTS.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA220857

Entities

People

  • Melvin R. O'neal
  • Richard J. Dennis
  • Robert E. Miller Ii
  • Robert P. Green Jr.
  • William M. Woessner

Organizations

  • United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Age Groups
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Aircrafts
  • Astigmatism
  • Availability
  • Classification
  • Contact Lenses
  • Data Analysis
  • Eye Diseases
  • Flight Crews
  • Hospital Equipment And Supplies
  • Medical Personnel
  • Training
  • United States Air Force Academy
  • Visual Acuity

Readers

  • Aviation Science / Aeronautics.
  • Circadian Sleep-Wake Regulation and Chronobiology