Fear of flying may be the main cause of the potentially fatal condition known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) which affects up to 30,000 long distance travelers a year. Until now, it was believed that DVT, often called ?economy class syndrome,? was caused by the cramped conditions on planes, along with long periods of immobility which could cause clots to form in the veins of passengers? legs.
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In an earlier news story, we reported that researchers in Australia and the U.K. believe that many deaths from bloodclots caused by long airplane flights go unreported.
Now scientists think that genetic testing could prevent this from happening. Gillian Turner, a medical geneticist at the University of Newcastle in Australia, says people planning a long flight should consider being genetically tested for a mutation in their blood-clotting gene. “There is another component besides saying that it’s all the airlines’ fault for nottelling people to move their legs,” she says.
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More than 2,000 airline passengers may die from blood clots in Britain aloneevery year, an English doctor claims. An Australian surgeon agrees, sayinghospital reports indicate that up to 400 people arrive at Sydney airportsuffering from blood clots every year. In the past 8 years, 25 passengersarriving at Tokyo’s international airport have died from blood clots andcirculatory problems, and every year, Japanese doctors treat between 100 and150 passengers suffering from what has become known as “economy classsyndrome,” says Toshiro Makino, director of the airport clinic.
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