DVT caused by poor air quality in jets

[OpenMind]

DVT caused by poor air quality in jets, say scientists

By Nic Fleming, Medical Correspondent

(Filed: 10/03/2006)

DVT, the potentially fatal condition dubbed "economy class syndrome", can be caused by poor air quality in passenger aircraft, scientists have shown for the first time.

In a study that will have major implications for the airline industry, the World Health Organisation said it was not just sitting still that causes Deep Vein Thrombosis.

Research to be published today in The Lancet shows that passengers who spent eight hours in an aircraft had a greater likelihood of suffering fatal blood clots than those who had sat in a seat on the ground for the same amount of time.

DVT was first linked to air travel in 1954 and recent studies have suggested that it can increase the risk of a fatal clot by up to four times. Until today it was widely thought that it was brought on by long periods spent in cramped seats without exercise.

Many airlines responded with information cards advising passengers on the exercises to do during a flight to minimise the risk.

Farrol Kahn, the director of Aviation Health, a non-profit body that deals with air travel health issues, said: "This is a very significant study in that for the first time it establishes a solid link between air travel and DVT."

DVT is the formation of blood clots within blood vessels, often in the large, deep veins in the lower legs.

The condition can block the flow of blood and cause tissue damage, and can be fatal if a clot breaks away and reaches the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism.

Around 100,000 people get DVT in Britain each year, of which some 10 per cent are thought to develop it from air travel. The condition kills 500 to 1,000 people each year.

The World Health Organisation commissioned researchers from Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands and the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam to measure blood-clotting in 71 volunteers before, during and after eight-hour flights.

The same individuals were also monitored in similar seats on the ground for eight hours while they watched films and during normal daily life to see whether the only different factor - the relatively low-pressure, low-oxygen content of air on a passenger jet - made a difference.

Prof Frits Rosendaal, of Leiden University, said the findings indicated that flightassociated factors led to increased generation of thrombin - the blood-clotting marker - after air travel.

A British Airways spokesman said: "We welcome research into deep vein thrombosis and look forward to reading this paper in full. We encourage passengers to remain active during a flight."

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2006.

[OpenMind]

Far Rider wrote: Who says there is low oxygen content on air flights?? Poor air quality?? In what way? Are there impurites in the air that enter the blood stream??



I'm sorry this makes me want to clarify things more and the article doesnt really give any eveidence in it???



Is there a link to the actualy study?



I'd be very interested in this.


Try this one for starters, Far.

I am sure there are other articles in other publications. The Lancet would be a good place to look. I'll have a look later if I have some time.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... ndvt26.xml

[Kerry Pendel]

As they always say,-"prevention is better than cure..."

Take a look at the exercise feature on: classifaqs.com

Best wishes,- Kerry