TY - JOUR AU - Oosthuizen, M.A. AU - Mundackal, A.J. AU - Wright, C.Y. PY - 2014/06/03 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - The prevalence of asthma among children in South Africa is increasing - is the need for medication increasing as well? A case study in the Vaal Triangle JF - Clean Air Journal JA - Clean Air J. VL - 24 IS - 1 SE - Research Article DO - 10.17159/caj/2014/24/1.7050 UR - https://cleanairjournal.org.za/article/view/7050 SP - 28-30 AB - <p><em>Asthma, a chronic inflammatory condition of the airways, is a global public health concern. In southern Africa the&nbsp;prevalence of asthma has increased over the last few decades. In the current study, all 10-year-old learners from&nbsp;three of the schools (one each in Sasolburg, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging) that participated in the 1990 Vaal&nbsp;Triangle Air Pollution and Health Study, were selected as the study population for a cross-sectional study conducted&nbsp;in 2010. Both the 1990 and 2010 studies investigated several exposure factors but focussed on respiratory illnesses&nbsp;as main health outcomes. Although the overall ethnicity profile in 2010 was different from that of 1990, the socioeconomic&nbsp;status of the study populations were very similar – the reason being that the same schools were used and&nbsp;the participating children were from the same immediate environment. The results of the 2010 study were then&nbsp;compared to the results of all 10-year-olds, from the same three schools, who participated in the 1990 study. The&nbsp;results showed the difference in prevalence of asthma during the two study years was statistically significant. The&nbsp;difference in the percentage of children who had ever been diagnosed with asthma and were reportedly on&nbsp;medication in 1990 and 2010 was, however, not statistically significant, indicating that although the prevalence of&nbsp;asthma increased, the demand for medication to control the condition may not have increased as well.</em></p> ER -