Computer workers face DVT risk
Monday November 1st, 2010
People who spend hours at a time sat at computer desks may face an increasing risk of developing deep vein thrombosis, researchers have warned.
A New Zealand-based study suggests that each extra hour in front of the computer increases the risk by ten per cent.
Doctors at the University of Otago compared some 197 patients with venous thromboembolism - life-threatening blood clots in the circulation - with 197 healthy people of a similar age.
On average patients with the condition were three times as likely to be people "immobilised" by computer use, the researchers report in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
They defined computer-related immobility as being seated on a computer for at least ten hours a day - and spending at least two hours without getting up.
Risk was aggravated for those who had their own desk at work and for those who usually ate their lunch at their desk. This nearly doubled the risk of developing a problem.
Researcher Richard Beasley said: "We should not be surprised by these findings. It is well recognised that prolonged seated immobility with long distance air travel increases the risk of blood clots.
"This study has shown that prolonged seated immobility at work is also associated with an increased risk of blood clots."
* A second study accuses airlines of failing to take adequate measures to warn passengers of the risk of thrombosis.
British doctors studied web-sites and found just a quarter sought to warn passengers that long-haul journeys could put them at risk of DVT.
Researcher James Scurr, a surgical registrar from the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, UK, said: "Even when airline websites did carry the information, we had to search very hard to find it buried away in the depths of the website. Yet it would be so easy to have a pre-flight health check page as part of the routine booking process."
The researchers studied websites from 107 air-lines for the research in the journal Phlebology.
Dr Beverley Hunt, medical director of Lifeblood: The Thrombosis Charity, said: "However low the risk, travellers should take some simple precautions as a deep vein thrombosis can be dangerous. A blood clot in the leg can break up and travel through your body; it can eventually block blood circulation to your lungs.
"In the unlikely event that in the weeks following a long-haul flight or journey you do develop symptoms like pain and swelling in either of your legs or unexpected shortness of breath and/or chest pain you should seek medical advice immediately."
Prolonged work- and computer-related seated immobility and risk of venous thromboembolism. B Healy, E Levin, K Perrin, M Weatherall, R Beasley. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine November 2010.
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