The serum lipid peroxide level of civil aircrew members

Objective: To observe serum lipid peroxide level and antioxidant capacity in civil aircrew members who occupationally exposed to cosmic radiation at high altitude. Methods: Serum lipid peroxides (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant activity (TAO) were all determined by chemical colorimetry. The effective doses were estimated in accordance with CARI-6. Results: The three indicators in the aircrew members were all significantly higher than those of ground personnel (P<0.05): their MDA, SOD, TAO levels were (4.09±1.1) nmol/ml, (126.0 ± 17.1)U/ml, (22.01 ± 4.6) U/ml, while those in the ground personnel were (3.79±0.7) nmol/ml, (119.5±10.5) U/ml, (20.02±3.9) U/ml, respectively. The serum MDA levels exhibited a trend of increase with average annual flight hours and average annual effective doses, but were not parallel with total hours service in flying and accumulative effective doses and ages. The MDA showed corresponding dynamic changes with the changes in the flight continuity over a recent period of time. Conclusions: The lipids in the body of aircrew members suffer oxidation damage from cosmic radiation and the antioxidant capacity of the body shows a compensatory increase. The serum lipid peroxide levels are affected obviously by flight burdens and the frequency exposed to cosmic radiation recently. The serum lipid peroxides might be used as a monitoring indicator in cosmic radiation protection for aircrew members