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Poor air quality in jets leads to DVT

     London: Deep Vein Thrombosis DVT, the potentially fatal condition dubbed "economy class syndrome", can be caused by poor air quality in passenger aircraft, according to a new research by scientists. 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. 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."
-Mar 10,  2006

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