title: A survey of the occurrence of motion sickness amongst passengers at sea.
abstract: A questionnaire survey of motion sickness occurrence on board passenger ferries has been conducted. Data were collected from 20,029 passengers on 114 voyages on 9 vessels: 6 ships, 2 hovercraft, and 1 jetfoil. Information was obtained about feelings of illness, the occurrence of vomiting, the taking of anti-seasickness tablets, the consumption of alcoholic drinks, regularity of travel by sea, age, and sex. Overall, 7% of passengers reported vomiting at some time during the journey, 21% said they felt "slightly unwell," 4% felt "quite ill," and a further 4% felt "absolutely dreadful." Both vomiting incidence and illness rating were greater in females than in males, and there was a slight decrease in sickness occurrence with increasing age. The incidence of vomiting was related to the taking of tablets and the drinking of alcohol; there were also some interaction effects with other variables. Anecdotal information from passengers is reported and consideration is given to the effects of environmental variables.
authors.affiliation: Human Factors Research Unit, The University, Southampton, England.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lawther
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Griffin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009041:Motion Sickness / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014839:Vomiting / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D014887:Weather