Preliminary results of exposure measurements and health effects of the Vaal Triangle Air Pollution Health Study.

The aim of the Vaal Triangle Air Pollution Health Study is to assess the adequacy of South Africa's air pollution control programme to protect human health. It is a longitudinal study of children aged 8-12 years which will evaluate exposure and effects of outdoor and indoor air pollution levels on the health of more than 10,000 white and black children living in Vanderbijlpark, Sasolburg, Vereeniging, Meyerton, Randvaal, and the Sebokeng/Sharpeville areas (Lekoa), Transvaal, RSA. Extensive data on outdoor and indoor levels of air pollution as well as personal exposures to total suspended particulate matter were collected. Preliminary results indicate that the levels of particulate matter exceed the USA health standards. A health questionnaire administered to 10,187 white children indicated that during the past year 65.9% had suffered from upper respiratory tract illnesses (URI) such as sinusitis, rhinitis and hay fever and 28.9% from lower respiratory tract illnesses (LRI) such as bronchitis, chronic cough and chronic chest illnesses. Parents who perceived that the air pollution in the region is serious had a higher reporting rate of URI/LRI for their children than parents who considered the air pollution not to be serious (77.4% v. 56.8% respectively for URI and 24.1% v. 16.3% respectively for LRI). The effect of this recall bias will be evaluated in later analyses. A statistically significant higher prevalence of LRI was reported in children exposed to parental smoking (25.7% for households where both parents smoked v. 20.8% in households without parental smoking) (odds ratio (OR) 1.32 (1.2-1.5)).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)