Skip the dip? Swimming in the sea increases risk of illness, analysis suggests
People who swim in the sea are at significantly higher risk of stomach bugs, ear problems and other illnesses than those who stick to the sand, research suggests.
The team behind the findings suggest the increased chances of becoming unwell may be down to pollution of coastal waters by sources such as farm run-off and sewage.
“I think there is a perception in high income countries like the UK that the risk of experiencing illness following bathing in the sea is negligible, but what we found is that there is a significant increase in the chances of getting sick,” said Dr Anne Leonard, co-author of the research from the University of Exeter Medical School.
Writing in the International Journal of Epidemiology, Leonard and colleagues describe how they scrutinised data from 19 studies focusing on waters of countries including the US, UK, Spain and Norway.
While the team were not able to estimate the exact chance of falling sick, analysis of data from six studies revealed that sea bathers had 86% greater odds of having any illness than those who did not spend time in the sea. Furthermore, analysis of data from six studies revealed that bathers had more than twice the odds of experiencing at least one symptom of an ear ailment.
A large number of the studies found that bathers had a greater risk of at least one symptom of gastrointestinal illness, with data pooled from 12 studies showing bathers had 44% higher odds of diarrhoea than those who didn’t go into the sea, and six studies taken together suggesting that bathers had a 27% higher chance of stomach ache.
The team also found that one study showed a greater chance of bathers having urinary…
