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Environmental factors associated with atopic dermatitis in children in urban and rural South Africa
Background: Environmental exposures related to modern urban living, and the absence of protective rural exposures, may contribute to the high prevalence of childhood atopic dermatitis (AD). Objectives: To identify environmental exposures associated with AD in children living in three residential are...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
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Department of Public Health and Family Medicine
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613197285982208 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Dewar, Janine |
| author2 | London, Leslie |
| author_browse | Dewar, Janine London, Leslie |
| author_facet | London, Leslie Dewar, Janine |
| author_sort | Dewar, Janine |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Background: Environmental exposures related to modern urban living, and the absence of protective rural exposures, may contribute to the high prevalence of childhood atopic dermatitis (AD). Objectives: To identify environmental exposures associated with AD in children living in three residential areas of South Africa. Methods: A total of 3144 children aged 3 to 11 years participated in 1999 in a cross-sectional study involving a suburban area, peri-urban informal settlement, and several villages in a remote rural district in South Africa. Caregivers of children within a modified case control subset of 739 children, consisting of 253 cases and 486 controls, completed a researcher-led 57-point questionnaire on environmental exposures. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine statistically significant associations between environmental exposures and AD. Results: A total of 387 children in the urban area, 59 in the peri-urban area and 293 in the rural district were included. Mean age of participants was 6.8 years, and 53.9% were female. Multivariate analysis found that current exposure to mould (aOR 2.79; 95% CI 1.58 – 5.00), pesticides (aOR 1.73; 95% CI 1.24 – 2.42), stress events (aOR 2.37; 95% CI 1.19 – 4.75) and home infestation with fleas (aOR 1.73; 95% CI 1.24 – 2.42) increased odds of AD in our study population, as did weaning after 4 months (aOR 1.83; 95% CI 1.31 – 2.56), compared to earlier weaning. Conclusion: Our findings underscore the need for targeted interventions addressing indoor environmental air quality, use of indoor pesticides, and the impact of psychological stressors on the development of AD. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42075 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:18.917Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Department of Public Health and Family Medicine |
| publisherStr | Department of Public Health and Family Medicine |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42075 Environmental factors associated with atopic dermatitis in children in urban and rural South Africa Dewar, Janine London, Leslie Todd, Gail Rural Urban Children South Africa Background: Environmental exposures related to modern urban living, and the absence of protective rural exposures, may contribute to the high prevalence of childhood atopic dermatitis (AD). Objectives: To identify environmental exposures associated with AD in children living in three residential areas of South Africa. Methods: A total of 3144 children aged 3 to 11 years participated in 1999 in a cross-sectional study involving a suburban area, peri-urban informal settlement, and several villages in a remote rural district in South Africa. Caregivers of children within a modified case control subset of 739 children, consisting of 253 cases and 486 controls, completed a researcher-led 57-point questionnaire on environmental exposures. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine statistically significant associations between environmental exposures and AD. Results: A total of 387 children in the urban area, 59 in the peri-urban area and 293 in the rural district were included. Mean age of participants was 6.8 years, and 53.9% were female. Multivariate analysis found that current exposure to mould (aOR 2.79; 95% CI 1.58 – 5.00), pesticides (aOR 1.73; 95% CI 1.24 – 2.42), stress events (aOR 2.37; 95% CI 1.19 – 4.75) and home infestation with fleas (aOR 1.73; 95% CI 1.24 – 2.42) increased odds of AD in our study population, as did weaning after 4 months (aOR 1.83; 95% CI 1.31 – 2.56), compared to earlier weaning. Conclusion: Our findings underscore the need for targeted interventions addressing indoor environmental air quality, use of indoor pesticides, and the impact of psychological stressors on the development of AD. 2025-10-31T11:33:35Z 2025-10-31T11:33:35Z 2025 2025-10-31T11:27:01Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MPH http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42075 en eng application/pdf Department of Public Health and Family Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Rural Urban Children South Africa Dewar, Janine Environmental factors associated with atopic dermatitis in children in urban and rural South Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Environmental factors associated with atopic dermatitis in children in urban and rural South Africa |
| title_full | Environmental factors associated with atopic dermatitis in children in urban and rural South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Environmental factors associated with atopic dermatitis in children in urban and rural South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental factors associated with atopic dermatitis in children in urban and rural South Africa |
| title_short | Environmental factors associated with atopic dermatitis in children in urban and rural South Africa |
| title_sort | environmental factors associated with atopic dermatitis in children in urban and rural south africa |
| topic | Rural Urban Children South Africa |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42075 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dewarjanine environmentalfactorsassociatedwithatopicdermatitisinchildreninurbanandruralsouthafrica |