Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales, Hôpital Nord, AP-HM, Marseille, France.
J Travel Med. 2009 Nov-Dec;16(6):377-81. doi: 10.1111/j.1708-8305.2009.00358.x.
The majority of published studies on Hajj-related diseases were based on hospitalized patient cohorts.
A total of 545 Hajj pilgrims from Marseille were enrolled in a prospective epidemiological study to evaluate the incidence of common health hazards. They were administered a questionnaire before traveling addressing demographic factors and health status indicators and a post-travel questionnaire about travel-associated diseases.
Respondents had a median age of 61 years and originated mainly from North Africa (81%). A significant proportion of individuals had chronic medical disorders such as walking disability (26%), diabetes mellitus (21%), and hypertension (21%). A total of 462 pilgrims were administered a questionnaire on returning home. A proportion of 59% of travelers presented at least one health problem during the pilgrimage and 44% of the cohort attended a doctor during travel; 3% were hospitalized. Cough was the main complaint among travelers (attack rate of 51%), followed by headache, heat stress, and fever. Few travelers suffered diarrhea and vomiting. Cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, trauma, skin and gastrointestinal problems were not frequently observed in our survey, suggesting that their prevalence among the causes of admission to Saudi hospitals reflects a bias of selection. Cough episodes were significantly more frequent in individuals >55 years. We also evidenced that women were more likely to present underlying chronic cardiovascular disorder and diabetes compared to men and that they more frequently suffered from cough episodes associated with fever during the Hajj.
Health risks associated with the Hajj in our experience are much more related to crowding conditions than to travel. Our work suggests that the studies performed in Saudi specialized units probably overestimate the part of certain diseases within the spectrum of Hajj-associated diseases. Our results also suggest that old female Hajjes should be considered as a high-risk population and that preventive measures should be reinforced before departing for Saudi Arabia.
大多数有关朝觐相关疾病的研究都是基于住院患者队列。
共有 545 名来自马赛的朝觐者参加了一项前瞻性流行病学研究，以评估常见健康危害的发病率。他们在旅行前填写了一份问卷，内容涉及人口统计学因素和健康状况指标，以及旅行相关疾病的旅行后问卷。
受访者的中位年龄为 61 岁，主要来自北非（81%）。相当一部分人患有慢性疾病，如行走障碍（26%）、糖尿病（21%）和高血压（21%）。共有 462 名朝圣者在回家后接受了问卷调查。59%的旅行者在朝圣期间至少出现了一个健康问题，44%的旅行者在旅行期间看了医生；3%的人住院了。咳嗽是旅行者的主要投诉（发病率为 51%），其次是头痛、热应激和发热。很少有旅行者腹泻和呕吐。在我们的调查中，心血管疾病、神经紊乱、创伤、皮肤和胃肠道问题并不常见，这表明它们在沙特医院入院原因中的流行率反映了选择偏倚。55 岁以上的个体咳嗽发作更频繁。我们还证明，与男性相比，女性更有可能患有潜在的慢性心血管疾病和糖尿病，并且在朝觐期间更频繁地出现与发热相关的咳嗽发作。
根据我们的经验，与朝觐相关的健康风险更多地与拥挤条件有关，而不是与旅行有关。我们的工作表明，在沙特专门机构进行的研究可能高估了某些疾病在朝觐相关疾病谱中的部分。我们的研究结果还表明，年老的女性朝觐者应被视为高风险人群，应在前往沙特阿拉伯之前加强预防措施。
