Abstract:
Asthma, a chronic inflammatory condition of the airways, is a global public health concern. In southern Africa the
prevalence of asthma has increased over the last few decades. In the current study, all 10-year-old learners from
three of the schools (one each in Sasolburg, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging) that participated in the 1990 Vaal
Triangle Air Pollution and Health Study, were selected as the study population for a cross-sectional study conducted
in 2010. Both the 1990 and 2010 studies investigated several exposure factors but focussed on respiratory illnesses
as main health outcomes. Although the overall ethnicity profile in 2010 was different from that of 1990, the socioeconomic
status of the study populations were very similar – the reason being that the same schools were used and
the participating children were from the same immediate environment. The results of the 2010 study were then
compared to the results of all 10-year-olds, from the same three schools, who participated in the 1990 study. The
results showed the difference in prevalence of asthma during the two study years was statistically significant. The
difference in the percentage of children who had ever been diagnosed with asthma and were reportedly on
medication in 1990 and 2010 was, however, not statistically significant, indicating that although the prevalence of
asthma increased, the demand for medication to control the condition may not have increased as well.
