Lagged acute respiratory outcomes among children related to ambient pollutant exposure in a high exposure setting in South Africa

Abstract

What this study addsThis, one of the few such studies from sub-Saharan Africa, focuses on four very low socio-economic communities in a region legally designated as a high pollution area in South Africa, known as the "Vaal Triangle". The study provides critical evidence of exposure-related lagged respiratory effectsboth acute symptoms and acute changes in lung function among a cross section of schoolchildren selected without consideration to their health status. The repeated measures design captures acute effects within the sample over the summer and winter seasons. In this sample, acute dose-related effects at pollutant levels below the WHO Air Quality Guidelines were observed.