Objective To explore the clinical value of coronary artery calcification(CAC)detected by chest CT in early screening of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease(CAHD)in civil pilots.Methods The physical examination data of 2 899 civil pilots were retrospectively analyzed.Pilots were divided into CAHD group and control group based on the results of coronary angiography(CAG).The health data were compared between 2 groups and the clinical value of CAC in the diagnosis of CAHD was analyzed by using binary Logistic regression model and receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results Thirty-eight CAHD cases were diagnosed,and the remaining 2 861 were in the control group.Comparing to that of control group,the average age of the pilots in CAHD group was greater(t=12.09,P<0.001),and the average total flying hours were longer(Z=-7.68,P<0.001).The proportions of smoking,hyperlipidemia,diabetes,hypertension,fatty liver,obesity,carotid plaques,positive or suspiciously positive in submaximal treadmill exercise test,CAC,as well as the proportions of taking further requested coronary CT angiography and CAG were significantly higher in the CAHD group(χ2=5.42-1 430.25,P<0.01 or<0.05).Logistic regression model showed that smoking(OR=2.800,95%CI:1.074-7.301,P=0.035),obesity(OR=3.336,95%CI:1.243-8.956,P=0.017),positive or suspiciously positive in submaximal treadmill exercise test(OR= 17.669,95%CI:2.923-106.756,P=0.002)and CAC(OR=96.039,95%CI:11.439-806.396,P<0.001)were the independent risk factors for diagnosing CAHD.The ROC curve results suggested that the sensitivity and specificity of CAC for predicting CAHD was 97.4%and 93.1%,respectively,and the area under the ROC curve was 0.952(P<0.001).Conclusions CAC detected by chest CT in physical examination is helpful for early screening of asymptomatic or atypical CAHD in civil pilots.
Heart diseaseCoronary atherosclerosisCoronary artery calcificationCivil pilots