One of the most important sub-topics of Gynecology and Obstetrics is infertility. This section is closely related to researching and trying to solve the obstacles in front of couples who want to have children. The different effects of certain high-energy rays on the human body and reproductive organs were known until today. These were mostly tried to be revealed by experiments carried out in the laboratory. Gynecology and Obstetrics Specialist Prof. Dr. Ercan Baştu noted that they investigated the direct effect in flight attendant women without the need for any simulation.
IT TAKES YEARS TO BUILD THE TEAM
Gynecology and Obstetrics Specialist Prof. Dr. Ercan Baştu said, “We have considered many factors that can be eliminated here, together with our team. We thought that both exposure to ultraviolet radiation and the time difference between countries after a long flight in female pilots and cabin crew might increase this negative effect by disrupting the circadian rhythm. Our research was conducted on 134 women, 66 of whom were flight attendants and 68 were in the control group. We completed our work between 2018 – 2019. “Most of that was done with finding and involving participants in the study,” he said.
Stating that they examined the effects of ultraviolet radiation on women’s ovaries and their ability to conceive through different parameters in the study, Baştu said, “We revealed that Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, which is one of these parameters, indicating ovarian reserve, and the number of eggs in the ovaries are significantly lower in flight attendants. In addition, we counted the precursor eggs, which also showed the ovarian reserve on ultrasound. When we made this comparison by dividing the groups by age (25-29, 30-34, 35-39, >40), we found that flight attendants had lower AMH levels and egg counts compared to their counterparts, especially at older ages.”
“LONG YEARS FLYING IS A RISK FACTOR FOR INfertility”
prof. Dr. Ercan Baştu pointed out that when the flight attendants are examined according to the years they have worked, they also observed that these values of the attendants who have worked for longer years are lower than their colleagues who are new to the profession. Although we do not directly examine the pregnancy rate in this study, our most important finding is that if people who spend more time on flights have a desire to become pregnant, they may need to take some precautions at a younger age. Our research was published on June 17, 2022 in the journal Gynecological Endocrinology. Although our study provides important information on this subject, it may be too early to draw direct conclusions. Therefore, this effect will be better understood with further studies on this subject.