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Oct 3, 2006Article Details
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Main Article Content
Determinants of acute respiratory infections in Soweto - a population-based birth cohort
Abstract
Design. A fixed birth cohort of 571 children was followed from birth to 1 year of age. The children were monitored for symptoms of ARIs during regular home visits. Setting. An urban low-income setting in Soweto, a township outside Johannesburg with an estimated 1.2 million inhabitants, including an estimated 45 000 children under 2 years of age.
Subjects. A total of 571 children were observed for 118 650 days.
Outcome measures. The incidence rate of ARIs. The determinants birth weight, breastfeeding, gender, crowding, passive smoking, indoor pollution, and sanitary facilities were analysed.
Results. A total of 489 episodes of coughing or coughing and nasal discharge combined were recorded. Only the father's level of education and the number of people living in the household remained significant in the multivariate analyses. The incidence of severe ARIs was reduced among breastfed infants.
Conclusions. Our study supports previous observations suggesting that crowding and communal living conditions are important determinants of ARIs. Breastfeeding seemed protective against severe ARI. The lack of association with well-described risk factors such as low level of maternal education, gender and passive smoking could be due to lack of statistical power in this rather uniform population.
South African Medical Journal Vol. 96(7) 2006: 633-640
