Lung Health in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing the Need for Cleaner Air

Air pollution is increasingly recognized as a global health emergency with its impacts being wide ranging, more so for low- and middle-income countries where both indoor and outdoor pollution levels are high. In Africa, more than 80% of children live in households which use unclean sources of energy...

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Main Authors: Refiloe Masekela, Aneesa Vanker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
Series:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/17/6178
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spelling doaj-267c87556bd545be99e995735950748c2020-11-25T03:39:30ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1661-78271660-46012020-08-01176178617810.3390/ijerph17176178Lung Health in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing the Need for Cleaner AirRefiloe Masekela0Aneesa Vanker1Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Nelson R Mandela School of Clinical Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4013, South AfricaDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and MRC Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South AfricaAir pollution is increasingly recognized as a global health emergency with its impacts being wide ranging, more so for low- and middle-income countries where both indoor and outdoor pollution levels are high. In Africa, more than 80% of children live in households which use unclean sources of energy. The effects of both indoor and outdoor pollution on lung health on children who are the most vulnerable to their effects range from acute lower respiratory tract infections to long-term chronic health effects. We reviewed the literature on the effects of air pollution in children in Sub-Saharan Africa from prenatal exposure, infancy and school-going children. Data from Sub-Saharan Africa on quantification of exposures both indoor and outdoor mainly utilizes modelling or self-reporting. Exposures to biomass not only increases the risk of acute respiratory tract infections in young children but also increases the risk of carriage of pathogenic bacteria in the upper respiratory tract. Although there is limited evidence of association between asthma and pollution in African children, airway hyper-responsiveness and lower lung function has been demonstrated in children with higher risk of exposure. Interventions at a policy level to both quantify the exposure levels at a population level are urgently needed to address the possible interventions to limit exposure and improve lung health in children in Sub-Saharan Africa.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/17/6178pollutionindooroutdoorlung healthrespiratory tract infection
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Refiloe Masekela
Aneesa Vanker
spellingShingle Refiloe Masekela
Aneesa Vanker
Lung Health in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing the Need for Cleaner Air
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
pollution
indoor
outdoor
lung health
respiratory tract infection
author_facet Refiloe Masekela
Aneesa Vanker
author_sort Refiloe Masekela
title Lung Health in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing the Need for Cleaner Air
title_short Lung Health in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing the Need for Cleaner Air
title_full Lung Health in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing the Need for Cleaner Air
title_fullStr Lung Health in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing the Need for Cleaner Air
title_full_unstemmed Lung Health in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing the Need for Cleaner Air
title_sort lung health in children in sub-saharan africa: addressing the need for cleaner air
publisher MDPI AG
series International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
issn 1661-7827
1660-4601
publishDate 2020-08-01
description Air pollution is increasingly recognized as a global health emergency with its impacts being wide ranging, more so for low- and middle-income countries where both indoor and outdoor pollution levels are high. In Africa, more than 80% of children live in households which use unclean sources of energy. The effects of both indoor and outdoor pollution on lung health on children who are the most vulnerable to their effects range from acute lower respiratory tract infections to long-term chronic health effects. We reviewed the literature on the effects of air pollution in children in Sub-Saharan Africa from prenatal exposure, infancy and school-going children. Data from Sub-Saharan Africa on quantification of exposures both indoor and outdoor mainly utilizes modelling or self-reporting. Exposures to biomass not only increases the risk of acute respiratory tract infections in young children but also increases the risk of carriage of pathogenic bacteria in the upper respiratory tract. Although there is limited evidence of association between asthma and pollution in African children, airway hyper-responsiveness and lower lung function has been demonstrated in children with higher risk of exposure. Interventions at a policy level to both quantify the exposure levels at a population level are urgently needed to address the possible interventions to limit exposure and improve lung health in children in Sub-Saharan Africa.
topic pollution
indoor
outdoor
lung health
respiratory tract infection
url https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/17/6178
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