DRINKING water instead of booze might be enough to prevent deadly in-flight
blood clots, say Japanese researchers.
In the past eight years, 25 passengers arriving at Tokyo’s international
airport have died from blood clots and circulatory problems—the condition
nicknamed “economy-class syndrome”—and every year, doctors there treat
between 100 and 150 passengers suffering from the syndrome, says Toshiro Makino,
the director of the airport clinic. Many of the victims were middle aged or
elderly—the average age of those who died was 64. Tokyo airport is one of
the world’s busiest airports, dealing with more than 20 million passenger a
year.
Not all the sufferers had been travelling in the cheapest seats, says Makino.
One victim was an airline pilot who collapsed after a flight from the US.
“Seventy per cent of the cases were among economy-class travellers, 25 per cent
business class and 5 per cent first class,” says Makino. “My own opinion is that
this should not be called economy-class syndrome but aircraft syndrome.”
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Sitting still for a long time increases the risk that blood clots will form
in passengers’ legs. These clots can be lethal if they move from the legs into
vital organs such as the heart and lungs. Two years ago, researchers in France
showed that sitting still for four hours is sufficient to cause circulation
problems (91av, 20 February 1999, p 15).
In October, 28-year old Emma Christoffersen collapsed and died from deep-vein
thrombosis at London’s Heathrow Airport after a 20-hour flight from Australia.
In November, the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology urged
the British government and airlines to take measures to reduce the risk of
passengers getting clots.
The full extent of the problem is unknown. The world’s busiest airport,
London’s Heathrow Airport, does not collect figures on how many arrivals need
treatment. But the Japanese figures suggest the problem is widespread. “I am
sure Tokyo airport is not exceptional,” says Makino. “Other airport clinics must
experience the same proportion of cases.”
Drinking plenty of fluids may help to reduce the risk of deep-vein
thrombosis. Last year a research team from the Saitama Medical School in
Moroyama, Japan, tested this hypothesis. They put volunteers in a pressure
chamber to mimic in-flight conditions and gave one group fluids while a control
group had nothing to drink. At that pressure, the body normally responds by
lowering blood pressure and reducing circulation.
The researchers found that the blood pressure of those given fluids did not
drop, unlike that of the control group. They also had more oxygen in their
brains and the blood flow in their carotid arteries was 5 per cent greater than
in the non-drinking group.
Makino agrees that drinking fluids helps. “The biggest problem is
dehydration, and that is made worse by drinking alcohol. My advice is to keep
off the alcohol and drink lots of water.”