Information value of the test with radioadaptive response upon functional evaluation of pilots

Abstract

Information value of the radioadaptive response test was assessed during functional evaluation of pilots in the course of adaptation to flight factors. The functional evaluation was performed at the system level using cardiorespiratory parameters (spirometry and arterial cardiography), at the cellular level using individual sensitivity to ionizing radiation (a radioadaptive response (RAR) test on lymphocytes of peripheral blood), and at the molecular level using the direction of metabolic shifts (laser correlation spectroscopy of biological liquids). Changes in molecular composition of the blood serum and cardiorespiratory functions were compared depending on individual radiosensitivity of pilots with different flight hours. The incidence and strength of RAR in lymphocytes decreased with an increase in flight hours. In light scattering spectra, the input of particles with small hydrodynamic radii (smaller than 11 nm) decreased and that of large particles (larger than 200 nm) increased. The total power of the heart rate variability (HRV) spectrum decreased, whereas the value of stress index increased. Breathing test through a mask raised peripheral systolic and diastolic blood pressure in pilots without RAR. Moreover, it reduced the total spectrum of variability of systolic pressure and input of very low frequencies. In the group of pilots with RAR, the relative input of low frequencies into HRV increased and that of high frequencies decreased, the blood pressure not being altered. Decreased input of small particles and increased input of large particles in light scattering, when compared to the baseline values, were found only in pilots with RAR, which suggests shifts in the metabolism and humoral immunity. It could be hypothesized that the level of individual radiosensitivity reflects the general resistance of the body to negative factors of the environment.