Birth to ten: child health in South Africa in the 1990s. Rationale and methods of a birth cohort study

Abstract

Birth to Ten is a longitudinal birth cohort study which began in April 1990 in the Johannesburg/Soweto area of Transvaal, South Africa. In this paper, the reason for the initiation of the study and its location in the current sociopolitical context is discussed. The health status of South Africa children in terms of infant mortality, morbidity (notifiable diseases) and nutritional status is described and mention is made of measures of psychological health and the importance of environmental pollution on health. The existing health service infrastructure in the study area is described and the fragmentation of health services between races, between preventive and curative services and on a geographical basis is highlighted. The study objectives, design, population, inclusion and exclusion criteria, methods of measurement and logistics are described.

Investigation into longitudinal dietary behaviours and household socio-economic indicators and their association with BMIZ-score and fat mass in South African adolescents: the Birth to Twenty (Bt20) cohort

“…Study population, design and sample size Data for the present study were obtained from a longitudinal birth cohort study, the Bt20 cohort, which started in 1989 (11) . Singleton children (n 3273, 78 % black participants) born between April and June 1990 and resident for at least 6 months in the Soweto-Johannesburg municipality were enrolled into the birth cohort and have been followed up almost annually between birth and 20 years of age.…”

Panel studies in developing countries: case analysis of sample attrition over the past 16 years within the birth to twenty cohort in Johannesburg, South Africa

“…The pilot studies, research goals and enrolment methods of Bt20 have been documented in detail in several publications Yach et al, 1991;Richter et al, 2004). In summary, the Bt20 cohort was defined by the timing of a singleton birth within a defined period, as well as continued residence for at least six months after the birth of the child within the designated metropolitan area of Johannesburg and Soweto.…”

Stress among black women in a South African township: The protective role of religion

“…"Is everything a great effort?"). This scale was chosen because it has been used in a largescale study of Black women in Soweto (Richter, Yach, Cameron, Griese, & deWet, 1995;Yach, Cameron, Padayachee, Wagstaff, Richter, & Fonn, 1991). The depression scale was constructed by taking a mean of all 20 items.…”