A Two-Week Vacation in the Tropics and Psychological Well-Being—An Observational Follow-Up Study

Abstract

Despite the vast annual number of international visitors to the tropics, surprisingly little data are available on the psychological well-being associated with the travels or with travelers’ diarrhoea (TD). We herein recruited participants of a vaccination trial, OEV-123, before their 12-day holiday in Benin, West Africa. We assessed the travelers’ psychological distress with a general health questionnaire (GHQ-12) and retrieved data on TD from the trial database. The GHQ-12 was completed before (wave 0), at return (wave 1), and 1-month after (wave 2) the trip. Of the 174 participants, 73% were women, with a mean age 40 years. Moreover, 24% reported psychological distress before traveling, 10% immediately after, and 16% 1-month after the trip (GHQ-12, 3 or more; 0–12 scoring). The findings showed that psychological well-being increased after the tropical holiday. The GHQ-12 middle wave sum score differed from the wave 0 (p < 0.001) and wave 2 (p = 0.008) sum scores, with travelers reporting highest levels of well-being on their return, with evidence of a lasting improvement. TD was experienced by 71%, and it had a negative impact on psychological well-being only if experienced after travel.