Factors associated with risk behavior in travelers to tropical and subtropical regions

BACKGROUND: Recent decades have seen a rise in population movements and, therefore, the spread of tropical diseases and changes in the epidemiology of global disease patterns. Only 50% of travelers to tropical areas receive pre-travel advice and most of them present risk behaviors for acquiring infe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International health 2014-11
Main Authors: Aldea, Marta, García-Basteiro, Alberto L, Muñoz, José, Gascón i Brustenga, Joaquim, Aldasoro, Edelweiss, Bardají, Azucena, Vilella i Morató, Anna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Factors de risc en les malalties
Risk factors in diseases
Travelers
Tropics
Tròpics
Viatgers
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Summary:BACKGROUND: Recent decades have seen a rise in population movements and, therefore, the spread of tropical diseases and changes in the epidemiology of global disease patterns. Only 50% of travelers to tropical areas receive pre-travel advice and most of them present risk behaviors for acquiring infections. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of travelers and identify factors associated with risk behaviors. METHODS: We made a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study of 772 travelers consulting a tropical medicine clinic in Barcelona in 2010. Data on demographic and clinical variables, travel characteristics and risk behaviors were collected. RESULTS: Among all travelers studied, 65.8% (466/708) received pre-travel advice and 30.7% (209/680) took malaria prophylaxis. At least one risk behavior was reported by 82.6% (587/711) of travelers. People travelling for 1-6 months had a 3-fold higher likelihood of experiencing risk behaviors than people travelling for 6 months had a 13-fold higher likelihood (95% CI 3.11-56.14, p
ISSN:1876-3405