title: Investigating the early-life determinants of illness in Africa: the Drakenstein Child Health Study.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Zar
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health & Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Myer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health and MRC Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Nicol
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D064307:Microbiota; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000382:microbiology; D011181:Postnatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000208:ethnology; D012307:Risk Factors; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Pneumonia