Q. Sometimes I feel like my frequent travel schedule is taking a real toll on me in terms of my health and my general stress levels. Has there been any research on the health impact of business travel?

A. There has been some, but probably not as much as there should be.

Several years ago, the World Bank – which has a number of frequent international travelers on its staff -- organized a symposium on the topic, calling in experts from all over to discuss various aspects of business travel and health. A lot of it was fairly technical, but you can find a good summary of the overall results here, and if you really want to investigate the nitty-gritty, you can click here to see complete transcripts of most of the presentations.

In those presentations, one of the main studies of frequent business travelers found that the psychological impact of all those days away from home is probably greater than any negative physical effects. The presenter said his research determined the biggest concern – cited by three-fifths of all frequent travelers surveyed – was “the negative impact on family and personal life,” while 55 percent cited an excessively heavy workload during business trips, and more than one-third cited feelings of extreme isolation and loneliness on the road.

And the negative effects of frequent business travel can impact your spouse as well. This was documented in a 2002 study titled "Mental health insurance claims among spouses of frequent business travelers," which found that spouses of frequent travelers are much more likely to seek some kind of treatment for mental health issues than spouses of non-travelers.

Another big study of health issues and frequent business travel was conducted by Westin Hotels in 2006. You can see the results here.

While it’s great that there is some research out there documenting what many business travelers probably already know in their hearts, what seems to be lacking is any kind of remedy – there are no drugs you can take to alleviate the symptoms – except for the obvious one: Try to cut back your travel schedule to a more manageable level, or if you can’t do that, consider a job change.