A Lancet study by Dutch researchers now suggests that long flights and frequent air travel heighten the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
The study finds chemicals indicating clotting in 71 volunteers were higher after an eight-hour plane ride than simply sitting for the same amount of time.
This has lead researchers to suspect low air pressure and oxygen levels on a flight may be the culprit.
Professor Frits Rosendaal says, "Our study suggests it is not just immobilization, there is something else that adds to the risk when you are in the air that does not exist when you are sitting down for a long time while on the ground."
