Associations between prenatal exposure to environmental phenols and child neurodevelopment at two years of age in a South African birth cohort.

Objective: Evidence suggests that prenatal environmental phenol exposures negatively impact child neurodevelopment, however there is little research on the effects of mixtures of multiple phenol exposures. We analyzed associations between prenatal exposure to phenol mixtures and cognitive neurodevelopment at two years of age among 545 mother-child pairs from the South African Drakenstein Child Health Study.

Material And Methods: We measured maternal urine environmental phenol concentrations once during the second trimester of pregnancy.

A case of cytomegalovirus cystic lung disease and review of literature.

A 31-week gestation male infant with respiratory distress since day of delivery had lobectomy at 8 weeks of age for symptomatic, suspected congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM). Histology of resected lung showed cytomegalovirus (CMV) inclusion bodies and emphysematous changes. The infant was treated with antiviral therapy with improvement in symptoms.

Joint effects of indoor air pollution and maternal psychosocial factors during pregnancy on trajectories of early childhood psychopathology.

Prenatal indoor air pollution and maternal psychosocial factors have been associated with adverse psychopathology. We used environmental-exposure mixture methodology to investigate joint effects of both exposure classes on child behavior trajectories. For 360 children from the South African Drakenstein Child Health Study, we created trajectories of Child Behavior Checklist scores (at 24, 42, and 60 months) using latent-class linear mixed effects models.

Joint effects of prenatal exposure to indoor air pollution and psychosocial factors on early life inflammation.

It is hypothesized that air pollution and stress impact the central nervous system through neuroinflammatory pathways Despite this, the association between prenatal exposure to indoor air pollution and psychosocial factors on inflammatory markers in infancy has been underexplored in epidemiology studies. This study investigates the individual and joint effects of prenatal exposure to indoor air pollution and psychosocial factors on early life inflammation (interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)). We analyzed data from the South African Drakenstein Child Health Study (N = 225).

Home ventilation in low resource settings: Learning to do more, with less.

Long-term ventilation (LTV) in children at home, especially invasive ventilation, is not widely available nor practised in low-resource settings (LRS). Barriers to providing LTV include underdeveloped pediatric critical care services, limited expertise in pediatric LTV, limited capacity to screen for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and high cost of LTV equipment and consumables. Additional challenges encountered in LRS may be unreliable electricity supply and difficult socioeconomic conditions.

Sensitive periods for exposure to indoor air pollutants and psychosocial factors in association with symptoms of psychopathology at school-age in a South African birth cohort.

Background: Gestation and the first few months of life are important periods for brain development. During these periods, exposure to environmental toxicants and psychosocial stressors are particularly harmful and may impact brain development. Specifically, exposure to indoor air pollutants (IAP) and psychosocial factors (PF) during these sensitive periods has been shown to predict childhood psychopathology.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the bronchus in two children: Case reports.

Childhood mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MEC) of the bronchus are rare. They present with non-specific symptoms and signs making diagnosis delayed. We present two children with bronchial MEC managed in a tertiary children's hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

Joint Effects of Indoor Air Pollution and Maternal Psychosocial Factors During Pregnancy on Trajectories of Early Childhood Psychopathology.

Background: Prenatal indoor air pollution and maternal psychosocial factors have been associated with adverse psychopathology. We used environmental exposure mixture methodology to investigate joint effects of both exposure classes on child behavior trajectories.

Methods: For 360 children from the South African Drakenstein Child Health Study, we created trajectories of Child Behavior Checklist scores (24, 42, 60 months) using latent class linear mixed effects models.

DNA methylation as a potential mediator of the association between indoor air pollution and neurodevelopmental delay in a South African birth cohort.

Background: Exposure to indoor air pollution during pregnancy has been linked to neurodevelopmental delay in toddlers. Epigenetic modification, particularly DNA methylation (DNAm), may explain this link. In this study, we employed three high-dimensional mediation analysis methods (HIMA, DACT, and gHMA) followed by causal mediation analysis to identify differentially methylated CpG sites and genes that mediate the association between indoor air pollution and neurodevelopmental delay.

DNA methylation as a potential mediator of the association between prenatal tobacco and alcohol exposure and child neurodevelopment in a South African birth cohort.

Prenatal tobacco exposure (PTE) and prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) have been associated with an increased risk of delayed neurodevelopment in children as well as differential newborn DNA methylation (DNAm). However, the biological mechanisms connecting PTE and PAE, DNAm, and neurodevelopment are largely unknown. Here we aim to determine whether differential DNAm mediates the association between PTE and PAE and neurodevelopment at 6 (N = 112) and 24 months (N = 184) in children from the South African Drakenstein Child Health Study.

In-utero exposure to indoor air pollution or tobacco smoke and cognitive development in a South African birth cohort study.

Background And Aims: There is increasing evidence indicating that air pollution exposure is associated with neuronal damage. Since pregnancy is a critical window of vulnerability, air pollution exposure during this period could have adverse effects on neurodevelopment. This study aims 1) to analyze associations of prenatal exposure to indoor air pollution (particulate matter with diameters ≤10 μm, PM) and tobacco smoke with neurodevelopment and 2) to determine whether these associations are mediated by deviations of epigenetic gestational age from chronological gestational age (ΔGA).

Factors associated with serious outcomes of pneumonia among children in a birth cohort in South Africa.

Background: Child hospitalization for pneumonia remains common, and pneumonia is a major cause of child mortality. Early identification of clinical factors associated with serious outcomes may help target risk-mitigation strategies.

Methods: Pneumonia cases occurring in the Drakenstein Child Health Study, a prospective birth cohort outside Cape Town, South Africa were analysed, and factors associated with serious outcomes of pneumonia were identified.

COVID-19 and Pediatric Lung Disease: A South African Tertiary Center Experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to rapid global spread with far-reaching impacts on health-care systems. Whilst pediatric data consistently shown a milder disease course, chronic lung disease has been identified as a risk factor for hospitalization and severe disease. In Africa, comprised predominantly of low middle-income countries (LMIC), the additional burden of HIV, tuberculosis, malnutrition and overcrowding is high and further impacts health risk.

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. 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.

Genetic susceptibility to asthma increases the vulnerability to indoor air pollution.

Introduction: Indoor air pollution and maternal smoking during pregnancy are associated with respiratory symptoms in infants, but little is known about the direct association with lung function or interactions with genetic risk factors. We examined associations of exposure to indoor particulate matter with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 10 µm (PM) and maternal smoking with infant lung function and the role of gene-environment interactions.

Methods: Data from the Drakenstein Child Health Study, a South African birth cohort, were analysed (n=270).

Health Benefits of Air Pollution Reduction.

Air pollution is a grave risk to human health that affects nearly everyone in the world and nearly every organ in the body. Fortunately, it is largely a preventable risk. Reducing pollution at its source can have a rapid and substantial impact on health.

Cystic fibrosis in black African children in South Africa: a case control study.

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is described more commonly in Caucasian populations in whom p.Phe508del is the most common mutation. There is a paucity of data of CF in black African children.

Association between maternal psychological adversity and lung function in South African infants: A birth cohort study.

Objective: The association of perinatal psychological adversity (ie, stressors and distress) with infant lung function (ILF) and development is not well studied in Africa and elsewhere. We determined the association between maternal perinatal psychological adversity and ILF in African infants.

Design: Prospective longitudinal follow up of the Drakenstein Child Health Study birth cohort.

Tuberculosis in children presenting with chylothorax - Report of two cases and review of the literature.

One third of the world's population is estimated to be infected with . Tuberculosis (TB) is endemic in many sub-Saharan African counties. The burden is further made worse by the HIV scourge.

Exogenous lipoid pneumonia in children: A systematic review.

Objectives: To describe the clinical-radiological-pathological characteristics and treatment outcomes of children with suspected exogenous lipoid pneumonia (ELP).

Design: Systematic review. We searched electronic databases and reference lists published between 1967 and 2018, restricted to non-accidental cases.

Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Children in a Well-vaccinated South African Birth Cohort: Spectrum of Disease and Risk Factors.

Background: Childhood lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) cause substantial morbidity and under-5 child mortality. The epidemiology of LRTI is changing in low- and middle-income countries with expanding access to conjugate vaccines, yet there are few data on the incidence and risk factors for LRTI in these settings.

Methods: A prospective birth cohort enrolled mother-infant pairs in 2 communities near Cape Town, South Africa.