DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS (DVT) A SMALL RISK AFTER AIR TRAVEL
3 November 2003 (healthinsite.gov.au)

A new Australian study into the relationship between air travel and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has shown that there is a small but heightened risk of a person suffering from this condition following long-haul air travel.

The study was undertaken by the Australian Department of Health and Ageing and funded by the Department of Transport and Regional Services and was released today by Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Professor John Horvath.

'For an average middle-aged traveller, this means that a DVT would occur only once in 40,000 flights, with a death at about once in 2 million flights. For young people the average risk would be much smaller," Professor Horvath said.

Relevant health advice will now be distributed to the aviation and travel industries, General Practitioners, and peak medical organisations. DVT health advice will also be placed on Government websites.

Full details of the study will be published in the British Medical Journal later this week.