RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Investigating the early-life determinants of illness in Africa: the Drakenstein Child Health Study
JF Thorax
JO Thorax
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society
SP 592
OP 594
DO 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2014-206242
VO 70
IS 6
A1 Zar, H J
A1 Barnett, W
A1 Myer, L
A1 Stein, D J
A1 Nicol, M P
YR 2015
UL http://thorax.bmj.com/content/70/6/592.abstract
AB Respiratory disease is the predominant cause of illness in children globally. We describe a unique multidisciplinary South African birth cohort, the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS), to investigate the incidence, risk factors, aetiology and long-term impact of early lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) on child health. Pregnant women from a poor, peri-urban community with high exposure to infectious diseases and environmental risk factors are enrolled with 1000 mother–child pairs followed for at least 5 years. Biomedical, environmental, psychosocial and demographic risk factors are longitudinally measured. Environmental exposures are measured using monitors placed at home visits. Lung function is measured in children at 6 weeks, annually and during LRTI episodes. Microbiological investigations including microbiome and multiplex PCR measures are done longitudinally and at LRTI episodes. The DCHS is a unique African birth cohort study that uses sophisticated measures to comprehensively investigate the early-life determinants of child health in an impoverished area of the world.