BACKGROUND: Recent decades have seen a rise in population
movements and, therefore, the spread of tropical diseases and
changes in the epidemiology of global disease patterns. Only 50%
of travelers to tropical areas receive pre-travel advice and
most of them present risk behaviors for acquiring infections.
The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and
epidemiological characteristics of travelers and identify
factors associated with risk behaviors. METHODS: We made a
retrospective, descriptive and analytical study of 772 travelers
consulting a tropical medicine clinic in Barcelona in 2010. Data
on demographic and clinical variables, travel characteristics
and risk behaviors were collected. RESULTS: Among all travelers
studied, 65.8% (466/708) received pre-travel advice and 30.7%
(209/680) took malaria prophylaxis. At least one risk behavior
was reported by 82.6% (587/711) of travelers. People travelling
for 1-6 months had a 3-fold higher likelihood of experiencing
risk behaviors than people travelling for <1 month (95% CI
1.54-5.81, p=0.001), and those travelling for >6 months had a
13-fold higher likelihood (95% CI 3.11-56.14, p<0.001)
compared with the same group. Increasing age was associated with
presenting less risk behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Younger travelers
and those making longer trips have a higher number of risk
behaviors. Strategies emphasizing advice on risk behavior should
focus on these groups