Retrospective analysis of older travellers attending a specialist travel health clinic
Abstract Background Older people represent a significant proportion of overseas travellers. The epidemiology of older international travellers is not well described in the literature. This study aims to identify demographics, travel characteristics and the medical profile of older travellers seeking...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6af09331a433427ebab1d1dc1e2782b7 2023-05-15T15:16:18+02:00 Retrospective analysis of older travellers attending a specialist travel health clinic Milad Darrat Gerard T. Flaherty 2019-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-019-0094-8 https://doaj.org/article/6af09331a433427ebab1d1dc1e2782b7 EN eng BMC http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40794-019-0094-8 https://doaj.org/toc/2055-0936 doi:10.1186/s40794-019-0094-8 2055-0936 https://doaj.org/article/6af09331a433427ebab1d1dc1e2782b7 Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines, Vol 5, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2019) Older traveller Travel medicine Travel Special group of travellers Elderly Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-019-0094-8 2022-12-31T12:33:56Z Abstract Background Older people represent a significant proportion of overseas travellers. The epidemiology of older international travellers is not well described in the literature. This study aims to identify demographics, travel characteristics and the medical profile of older travellers seeking pre-travel health advice in a specialist travel medicine clinic. Methods Records of travellers aged 60 years and older attending the Tropical Medical Bureau clinic in Galway, Ireland between 2014 and 2018 were examined. Descriptive and inferential analysis of data was performed. Results A total of 337 older travellers sought pre-travel health advice during the study period. The mean age of the cohort was 65.42 (±10) years. Most of the travellers (n = 267, 80%) had at least one travelling companion. Nearly half of older travellers (n = 155, 46.8%) were travelling with a single companion. Tourism was the main reason for travel for the majority (n = 260, 77.6%), followed by visiting friends and relatives (VFR) (n = 23, 6.9%) travellers. The mean interval remaining before the planned trip was 4.36 (±2) weeks, and the mean duration of travel was 3.16 (±1) weeks. The most popular single country of destination was India with 33 (9.8%) visitors, and South East Asia was the most popular region with 132 (39.2%) older travellers. The majority of travellers (n = 267, 79.2%) had a documented pre-existing medical condition. The most commonly reported medical conditions were hypertension (n = 26, 7.7%), dyslipidaemia (n = 18, 5.3%), diabetes mellitus (n = 12, 3.5%), insect bite sensitivity (n = 11, 3.3%), and hypothyroidism (n = 9, 2.6%). Antihypertensive agents (n = 32, 9.4%) and statins (n = 24, 7.1%) were the most frequently used medications. Typhoid (n = 112, 33.2%) and hepatitis A (n = 84, 24.9%) were the most common vaccinations administered to older travellers at the clinic. Conclusions This study provides an insight into the demographics, travel characteristics, and medical profile of elderly travellers seeking advice at a ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Traveller ENVELOPE(-48.533,-48.533,61.133,61.133) Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines 5 1 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
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English |
topic |
Older traveller Travel medicine Travel Special group of travellers Elderly Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
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Older traveller Travel medicine Travel Special group of travellers Elderly Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Milad Darrat Gerard T. Flaherty Retrospective analysis of older travellers attending a specialist travel health clinic |
topic_facet |
Older traveller Travel medicine Travel Special group of travellers Elderly Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
description |
Abstract Background Older people represent a significant proportion of overseas travellers. The epidemiology of older international travellers is not well described in the literature. This study aims to identify demographics, travel characteristics and the medical profile of older travellers seeking pre-travel health advice in a specialist travel medicine clinic. Methods Records of travellers aged 60 years and older attending the Tropical Medical Bureau clinic in Galway, Ireland between 2014 and 2018 were examined. Descriptive and inferential analysis of data was performed. Results A total of 337 older travellers sought pre-travel health advice during the study period. The mean age of the cohort was 65.42 (±10) years. Most of the travellers (n = 267, 80%) had at least one travelling companion. Nearly half of older travellers (n = 155, 46.8%) were travelling with a single companion. Tourism was the main reason for travel for the majority (n = 260, 77.6%), followed by visiting friends and relatives (VFR) (n = 23, 6.9%) travellers. The mean interval remaining before the planned trip was 4.36 (±2) weeks, and the mean duration of travel was 3.16 (±1) weeks. The most popular single country of destination was India with 33 (9.8%) visitors, and South East Asia was the most popular region with 132 (39.2%) older travellers. The majority of travellers (n = 267, 79.2%) had a documented pre-existing medical condition. The most commonly reported medical conditions were hypertension (n = 26, 7.7%), dyslipidaemia (n = 18, 5.3%), diabetes mellitus (n = 12, 3.5%), insect bite sensitivity (n = 11, 3.3%), and hypothyroidism (n = 9, 2.6%). Antihypertensive agents (n = 32, 9.4%) and statins (n = 24, 7.1%) were the most frequently used medications. Typhoid (n = 112, 33.2%) and hepatitis A (n = 84, 24.9%) were the most common vaccinations administered to older travellers at the clinic. Conclusions This study provides an insight into the demographics, travel characteristics, and medical profile of elderly travellers seeking advice at a ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Milad Darrat Gerard T. Flaherty |
author_facet |
Milad Darrat Gerard T. Flaherty |
author_sort |
Milad Darrat |
title |
Retrospective analysis of older travellers attending a specialist travel health clinic |
title_short |
Retrospective analysis of older travellers attending a specialist travel health clinic |
title_full |
Retrospective analysis of older travellers attending a specialist travel health clinic |
title_fullStr |
Retrospective analysis of older travellers attending a specialist travel health clinic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Retrospective analysis of older travellers attending a specialist travel health clinic |
title_sort |
retrospective analysis of older travellers attending a specialist travel health clinic |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-019-0094-8 https://doaj.org/article/6af09331a433427ebab1d1dc1e2782b7 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-48.533,-48.533,61.133,61.133) |
geographic |
Arctic Traveller |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Traveller |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines, Vol 5, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2019) |
op_relation |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40794-019-0094-8 https://doaj.org/toc/2055-0936 doi:10.1186/s40794-019-0094-8 2055-0936 https://doaj.org/article/6af09331a433427ebab1d1dc1e2782b7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-019-0094-8 |
container_title |
Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines |
container_volume |
5 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766346587535048704 |