Illness and injuries during spaceflight

Illnesses and injuries during space missions are a range of medical conditions and injuries that may occur during space flights. Some of these medical conditions occur due to the changes withstood by the human body during space flight itself, while others are injuries that could have occurred on Earth's surface. A non-exhaustive list of these conditions and their probability of occurrence can be found in the following sources:

  • Records of medical problems that were encountered by astronauts during space flights
  • Information on medical conditions that occurred during expeditions on Earth in extreme environments (submarine, alpine, Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, expeditions to other remote ground-based locations, etc.) or NASA's Extreme Environment Mission Operations
  • Medical studies regarding the probabilities of diseases and injuries due to age
  • Pre- and post-flight examination of astronauts and cosmonauts
Table 8-1. In-flight Medical events for U.S. Astronauts during the Space Shuttle Program (STS-1 through STS-89, April 1981 to January 1998)
Medical Event or System by ICD9* Category Number Percent of Total
Space adaptation syndrome 788 42.2
Nervous system and sense organs 318 17.0
Digestive system 163 8.7
Skin and subcutaneous tissue 151 8.1
Injuries or trauma 141 7.6
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 132 7.1
Respiratory system 83 4.4
Behavioral signs and symptoms 34 1.8
Infectious diseases 26 1.4
Genitourinary system 23 1.2
Circulatory system 6 0.3
Endocrine, nutritional, metabolic, and immunity disorders 2 0.1
*International Classification of Diseases, 9th Ed.

Results for in-flight illness rates can be found in publications such as The Journal of Emergency Medicine, the Annals of Emergency Medicine, and the Journal of Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine.[1][2][3] Information on these rates can also be obtained from NASA's cfm Longitudinal Study of Astronaut Health database at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. This study lists a few of the conditions that could occur and their probabilities of occurrence.[4]

  1. ^ Stewart, LH; Trunkey, D; Rebagliati, GS (Jan 2007). "Emergency medicine in space". The Journal of Emergency Medicine. 32 (1): 45–54. doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2006.05.031. PMID 17239732.
  2. ^ Summers, RL; Johnston, SL; Marshburn, TH; Williams, DR (Aug 2005). "Emergencies in space". Annals of Emergency Medicine. 46 (2): 177–84. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2005.02.010. PMID 16046951.
  3. ^ Davis, JR (February 1999). "Medical issues for a mission to Mars". Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine. 70 (2): 162–8. PMID 10206937.
  4. ^ Ball, John R.; Evans, Charles j. (2001). Safe passage : astronaut care for exploration missions ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. ISBN 0-309-07585-8.