WHO Says

Fresh off a five hour flight to and from Hawaii, I laugh in the face of DVT probability. Laugh, I say.

Long-Distance Air Travel Doubles Risk of Blood Clot, WHO Says
By Dermot Doherty

June 29 (Bloomberg) — Flights lasting more than four hours about double a traveler’s risk of life-threatening blood clots, World Health Organization studies found.

The clots, called venous thromboembolism, can form in the legs and can be fatal when they move into a patient’s lungs. The risk of VTE also applies to travel such as car, bus and train where passengers are seated for long periods, the Geneva-based agency said in an e-mailed statement.

More than 600,000 people in the U.S. have a pulmonary embolism every year and more than 60,000 of them die, according to the country’s National Institutes of Health. The disorder is one of the most common causes of death in bed-bound hospitalized people. Long airplane journeys or car trips, childbirth within the last six months as well as use of drugs including estrogen and birth control pills have also been linked to clots.

“There is a clear need for travelers to be given appropriate information regarding the risks and for further studies to identify effective preventative measures,” the Geneva-based agency said.

The conclusions announced today were the result of the WHO Research Into Global Hazards of Travel, or WRIGHT, project aimed at confirming previous studies linking VTE and air travel. The project also sought to determine the extent of the risk.