dc.contributor.author | Leonard, AFC | |
dc.contributor.author | Singer, A | |
dc.contributor.author | Ukoumunne, OC | |
dc.contributor.author | Gaze, WH | |
dc.contributor.author | Garside, R | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-04-19T10:02:34Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2018-02-26 | |
dc.description.abstract | Background: Numerous illnesses are associated with bathing in natural waters, although it is assumed that the risk of illness among bathers exposed to relatively clean waters found in high-income countries is negligible. A systematic review was carried out to quantify the increased risk of experiencing a range of adverse health outcomes among bathers exposed to coastal water compared with non-bathers. Methods: In all 6919 potentially relevant titles and abstracts were screened, and from these 40 studies were eligible for inclusion in the review. Odds ratios (OR) were extracted from 19 of these reports and combined in random-effect meta-analyses for the following adverse health outcomes: incident cases of any illness, ear infections, gastrointestinal illness and infections caused by specific microorganisms. Results: There is an increased risk of experiencing symptoms of any illness [OR = 1.86, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.31 to 2.64, P = 0.001] and ear ailments (OR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.49 to 2.82, P < 0.001) in bathers compared with non-bathers. There is also an increased risk of experiencing gastrointestinal ailments (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.49, P < 0.001). Conclusions: This is the first systematic review to evaluate evidence on the increased risk of acquiring illnesses from bathing in seawater compared with non-bathers. Our results support the notion that infections are acquired from bathing in coastal waters, and that bathers have a greater risk of experiencing a variety of illnesses compared with non-bathers. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | This work was supported by the European Regional Development
Fund [grant number 500020]. Funders played no role in the study
design, nor in the collection, analysis or interpretation of data. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Published: 26 February 2018 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1093/ije/dyx281 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/32511 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | International Journal of Epidemiology | en_GB |
dc.relation.source | The data informing the random-effects meta-analyses in
this paper can be publicly accessed in Open Research
Exeter at: https://doi.org/10.24378/exe.123 | en_GB |
dc.relation.url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29529201 | en_GB |
dc.relation.url | https://doi.org/10.24378/exe.123 | |
dc.rights | ©
The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/),
which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact
journals.permissions@oup.com | en_GB |
dc.subject | Bathing beaches | en_GB |
dc.subject | saline waters | en_GB |
dc.subject | waterborne diseases | en_GB |
dc.subject | sports | en_GB |
dc.title | Is it safe to go back into the water? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the risk of acquiring infections from recreational exposure to seawater (article) | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2018-04-19T10:02:34Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0300-5771 | |
exeter.place-of-publication | England | en_GB |
dc.description | This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record. | en_GB |
dc.description | The data informing the random-effects meta-analyses in
this paper can be publicly accessed in Open Research
Exeter at: https://doi.org/10.24378/exe.123 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.journal | International Journal of Epidemiology | en_GB |