The relationship between asthma and ambient air pollutants among primary school students in Durban, South Africa

Kistnasamy, Emilie Joy; Robins, Thomas G.; Naidoo, Rajen N.; Batterman, Stuart; Mentz, Graciela; Jack, Christopher; Irusen, E M

doi:10.1504/ijenvh.2008.020929

Cited by 30 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The questionnaire was adapted from an instrument used in a study of asthma among children in Detroit, USA, and had been used previously in south Durban. [6] …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[5] A previous study reported a high prevalence of asthma among children at a primary school in south Durban, with pollutants having a significant association with increased respiratory symptoms and decrements of pulmonary function in asthmatic children. [6] However, the generalisability of the findings is uncertain, given the closeness of the school to large sources of pollution. Further description of adverse respiratory health among children in communities with varying proximity to industrial pollution was necessary.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Ambient pollution and respiratory outcomes among schoolchildren in Durban, South Africa

et al. 2013

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Objective To examine associations between ambient air pollutants and respiratory outcomes among schoolchildren in Durban, South Africa. Methods Primary schools from within each of seven communities in two regions of Durban (the highly industrialised south compared with the non-industrial north) were selected. Children from randomly selected grade 4 classrooms were invited to participate. Standardised interviews, spirometry, methacholine challenge testing and skin-prick testing were conducted. Particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide were monitored at each school, while nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other pollutants were monitored at other sites. Results SO2 was significantly higher in the south than in the north, while PM concentrations were similar across the city. The prevalence of symptoms consistent with asthma of any severity was 32.1%. Covariate-adjusted prevalences were higher among children from schools in the south than among those from the north for persistent asthma (12.2% v. 9.6 %) and for marked airway hyperreactivity (AHR) (8.1% v. 2.8%), while SO2 resulted in a twofold increased risk of marked AHR (95% confidence interval 0.98 – 4.66; p=0.056). Conclusions Schoolchildren from industrially exposed communities experienced higher covariate-adjusted prevalences of persistent asthma and marked AHR than children from communities distant from industrial sources. Our findings are strongly suggestive of industrial pollution-related adverse respiratory health effects among these children.

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“…The questionnaire was adapted from an instrument used in a study of asthma among children in Detroit, USA, and had been used previously in south Durban. [6] …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Ambient pollution and respiratory outcomes among schoolchildren in Durban, South Africa

et al. 2013

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“…[14][15][16][17][18] Although a few personal PM exposure studies exist in cities of developing countries, 19,20 the great majority of exposure studies are from rural areas, and assessed the role of household cooking and heating as a source of exposure. To the best of our knowledge, only rural exposure studies exist in sub-Saharan Africa 21,22 or studies that have measured school pollution but not personal exposure, 23,24 despite the fact that the urban population in this region is growing faster than any other in the world. 25 In this paper, we report personal PM 2.5 exposures of students in four neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal particulate matter exposures and locations of students in four neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana

Arku

Dionisio

Hughes

et al. 2014

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Air pollution exposure and places where the exposures occur may differ in cities in the developing world compared with high-income countries. Our aim was to measure personal fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure of students in neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic status in Accra, Ghana, and to quantify the main predictors of exposure. We measured 24-hour PM2.5 exposure of 56 students from eight schools in four neighborhoods. PM2.5 was measured both gravimetrically and continuously, with time-matched global positioning system coordinates. We collected data on determinants of exposure, such as distances of homes and schools from main roads and fuel used for cooking at their home or in the area of residence/school. The association of PM2.5 exposure with sources was estimated using linear mixed-effects models. Personal PM2.5 exposures ranged from less than 10 μg/m(3) to more than 150 μg/m(3) (mean 56 μg/m(3)). Girls had higher exposure than boys (67 vs 44 μg/m(3); P-value=0.001). Exposure was inversely associated with distance of home or school to main roads, but the associations were not statistically significant in the multivariate model. Use of biomass fuels in the area where the school was located was also associated with higher exposure, as was household's own biomass use. Paved schoolyard surface was associated with lower exposure. School locations in relation to major roads, materials of school ground surfaces, and biomass use in the area around schools may be important determinants of air pollution exposure.

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“…In this study, we observed elevated NO x levels in association with increased IL‐17 expression in third‐trimester peripheral blood, which may be a cause for concern. In the South‐central Durban region, a greater prevalence of adult respiratory conditions including asthma (adult asthma rates were reportedly higher than those internationally), as well as childhood asthma, and marked airway hyper‐reactivity compared to the northern Durban region were reported (Kistnasamy et al., ). Further study is required to investigate the association of increased IL‐17A expression in response to elevated NO x exposure with asthma exacerbation and or prevalence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

IL‐17A[G197G]—Association between NO_x and gestational age in a South African birth cohort

Prishani

Naidoo²,

Muttoo³

et al. 2018

Int J Immunogenetics

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Interleukin (IL-)17A, plays a role in pathogenic defence, but is implicated in chronic inflammatory diseases, and has recently been associated with variable pregnancy outcomes. We investigated the role of maternal IL-17-[G197A]-specific effects of third-trimester IL-17 mRNA expression, NO exposure levels and other variables on gestational age, in the Mother and Child in the Environment (MACE) birth cohort in South Africa. A total of 327 participants were genotyped for IL-17-[G197A] by polymerase chain reaction restriction-fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Quantitative real-time PCR was used to quantitate IL-17-mRNA expression in whole blood. Multivariate linear regression analysis, stratified by IL-17-[G197A] genotype, was used to test for effects of NO , IL17A/GAPDH, haemoglobin, body mass index, HIV-1 positivity, maternal education and income level on gestational age. Lower expression was associated with the IL-17-GG versus GA in the cohort and HIV-1-negative group (p = .0007, p = .0058), while no difference was observed in the HIV-1 positives. Elevated IL-17A expression was observed in the high NO exposure groups, within IL-17[G197G] (p = .0004). IL-17[G197G] was associated with PTB (p < .0001), and the PTB group had lower IL-17A expression compared to the full-term group (p = .0002). IL-17 expression was associated with an increase in gestational age (p = .038), and NO was associated with a decrease in gestational age in the IL-17[G197G] model (p = .046).

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The relationship between asthma and ambient air pollutants among primary school students in Durban, South Africa

Cited by 30 publications

References 26 publications

Ambient pollution and respiratory outcomes among schoolchildren in Durban, South Africa

Ambient pollution and respiratory outcomes among schoolchildren in Durban, South Africa

Personal particulate matter exposures and locations of students in four neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana

IL‐17A[G197G]—Association between NO_x and gestational age in a South African birth cohort

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The relationship between asthma and ambient air pollutants among primary school students in Durban, South Africa

Cited by 30 publications

References 26 publications

Ambient pollution and respiratory outcomes among schoolchildren in Durban, South Africa

Ambient pollution and respiratory outcomes among schoolchildren in Durban, South Africa

Personal particulate matter exposures and locations of students in four neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana

IL‐17A[G197G]—Association between NOx and gestational age in a South African birth cohort

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IL‐17A[G197G]—Association between NO_x and gestational age in a South African birth cohort