Respiratory Problems Associated with Surfing in Coastal Waters.
A pilot project was conducted to examine the health status and possible adverse health effects associated with seawater exposure (microbial water-quality indicators and phytoplankton abundance and their toxins) of surfers in Monterey Bay, Central California coastal waters. Forty-eight surfers enrolled in the study and completed an initial health background survey and weekly health surveys online using Survey Monkey. Descriptive statistics and generalized estimating equation, a regression technique, were used to identify longitudinal and correlated results. The surfers were predominately Caucasian, male, and physically active. They surfed approximately 4 h a week. Their average age was 34 years. The data indicated that the surfers were generally "healthy," with a low prevalence of diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension. Their most common health problems were allergies and asthma. During the study, 10% of the surfers reported gastrointestinal symptoms and 29% reported upper respiratory symptoms. This study suggests surfers were significantly more likely to report upper respiratory symptoms when they had a history of allergies, housemates with upper respiratory symptoms, and/or a history of previous adverse health symptoms while surfing during a "red tide" (an event often associated with the presence of phytoplankton toxins). Additionally, female surfers reported upper respiratory symptoms more than males.
Healthy Oceans, Healthy People, P.O. Box 7566, Santa Cruz, CA, 95061, USA. cohallo@healthyoceanshealthypeople.org.
Chris
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4299-4707
C
O'Halloran
Ocean Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
Mary W
MW
Silver
Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Maureen
M
Lahiff
Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
John
J
Colford
D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010839:Phytoplankton; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D012623:Seawater / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014118:Toxins, Biological; D060753:Water Quality
D014118:Toxins, Biological
Red tides; Surfers; Upper respiratory symptoms