As long ago as the seventies, a "lateral thinking" question given to medical students would be..
Sixteen year old female gets off a plane on the Costa Brava and collapses on the way to the arrival hall. Whats the diagnosis?
Answer: Pulmonary Embolism.
Why?
Sixteen year old female, on first holiday away from parents, wants to get "lucky" so goes on contraceptive pill a month before. In those days the hormonal doses were a lot higher than today! Drinks large amounts of alcohol on the way so dehydrated and sitting on cramped three hour charter flight. Gets off plane and walk down steps (no jetway in those days!) dislodges clot which grew on flight, and lodges in a large pulmonary vessel.
So even back in the seventies it was a known complication of air travel. My source tells me half the problem of finding out the incidence was getting the airlines to cooperate, they didn't want it to be shown that economy class travel was killing people. They are now helping in research, I wonder if they already know thae answer
