Synthetic populations of South African urban areas.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Joubert JW
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5997964 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
This article presents the procedure followed to generate complete synthetic populations from the South African National Census. The populations are accurate at both household and individual level, and were generated for nine major metropolitan and provincial areas. The disaggregate description of the population is useful in a variety of modelling contexts, especially if one wants to observe or study the distributional effects of, for example, policy measures. That is, studies in which equity and ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:This study investigated whether prior exposure to helminths (Ascaris IgE, Ascaris eggs and Trichuris eggs) either in childhood or in adulthood, and residence in rural and resource-limited urban areas influence allergy outcomes (asthma, rhinitis, IgE atopy and food allergy) in a South African population. Participants historical and present allergies data were collected through questionnaires and clinical record files. Coproscopy and immunoassays (ImmunoCAPTM Phadiatop, total IgE and allergen-specific fx3 IgE immunoassays and Ascaris IgE radioallergosorbent [RAST] tests) were used for active helminthiasis and allergy screens respectively. Data were analysed using logistic regression analysis, and models were adjusted for age, gender and locality. High Ascaris IgE was significantly associated with asthma (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.20, p = .047), IgE atopy (aOR = 18.18, p < .0001) and food allergy (aOR = 14.47, p < .0001). Asthma was significantly less likely among participants with Ascaris eggs (aOR = 0.43, p = .048) and Trichuris eggs (aOR = 0.36, p = .024). The findings of co-occurrent helminthiasis and allergic disorders in a population that has resided both in rural and peri-urban informal settlements both oppose and agree with two main notions of the hygiene hypothesis that (i) individuals residing in rural settings with poor sanitation and geohelminth infection are less prone to allergy, and (ii) helminth infections protect against allergy respectively. Further research is warranted.
| S-EPMC9539504 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Urban foraging for wild plant and animal products is increasingly recognised for its multiple benefits for people and nature stewardship. Planning for foraging in urban greenspace is one way that foraging can be made more accessible, beneficial, and equitable. Here, we explore how foraging could be recognised and provided for in urban municipalities in eastern South Africa. We synthesise forager and land manager interviews, policy analysis, and iterative discussions to develop four land use configurations under which foraging could be planned for. Design principles for community-based natural resource management are used to assess the feasibility of each configuration. We identify stakeholders who would be involved in governing each configuration, and how urban foraging can co-produce desirable outcomes for their priorities. We list locally-specific actions to enable collaborative greenspace governance through urban foraging. We suggest some generally applicable design considerations and implications for each of the four configurations.
| S-EPMC11871281 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceImproving mental health of young people is a major societal challenge, particularly among the high numbers of young people living in deprived urban areas.ObjectiveTo identify factors associated with depression and anxiety among young people in deprived urban areas in South America.Design, setting, and participantsThis case-control study recruited adolescents (age 15-16 years) and young adults (age 20-24 years) from education and community settings in deprived areas in Bogotá, Colombia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Lima, Peru, between April 2021 and November 2022. Participants who met threshold criteria for self-reported depression or anxiety. Community controls who did not meet the criteria were identified.ExposuresSociodemographic characteristics, stressful life events before and during the past year, substance use, social capital, sports and arts activities, social media engagement.Main outcomes and measuresDepression, assessed using the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire (range, 0-24, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity), and anxiety, assessed using the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire (range, 0-21, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity), were defined by threshold scores higher than 9. Various factors were compared between groups with and without anxiety and depression in multivariable logistic regression, testing for interactions by age group.ResultsOf 2402 analyzed participants, 1560 (64.9%) were female, 1080 (45.0%) were adolescents, and 1322 (55.0%) were young adults; 1437 (59.8%) met the criteria for depression and/or anxiety, and 965 (40.2%) were controls. In a multivariable model, female gender (OR, 1.99 [95% CI, 1.65-2.40), more than 2 stressful life events in the previous year (OR, 1.67 [95% CI, 1.40-2.01]), more than 7 stressful life events before the previous year (OR, 1.52 [95% CI, 1.27-1.81), lifetime consumption of sedatives (OR, 2.26 [95% CI, 1.65-3.14]), participating in arts activities in the past 30 days (OR, 1.22 [95% CI, 1.01-1.48]), and stronger engagement with social media (OR, 1.59 [95% CI, 1.34-1.89]) were independently associated with increased odds of depression and anxiety, while sports activities were associated with reduced odds (OR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.67-0.96]). The odds of having depression and/or anxiety symptoms associated with lifetime use of sedatives were higher among adolescents (OR, 6.54 [95% CI, 3.33-14.27]) than among young adults (OR, 2.54 [95% CI, 1.79-3.66]) (P = .01 for interaction).Conclusions and relevanceIn this case-control study, female gender, stressful life events, substance use, arts activities, and social media engagement were associated with greater odds of depression and anxiety, while sport activities were associated with lesser odds. The findings suggest that policies for improving mental health in deprived urban neighborhoods in South America and related research should consider similar factors associated with mental distress in adolescents and young adults.
| S-EPMC11883490 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Timely vaccination is important to induce adequate protective immunity. We measured vaccination timeliness and vaccination coverage in three geographical areas in South Africa.This study used vaccination information from a community-based cluster-randomized trial promoting exclusive breastfeeding in three South African sites (Paarl in the Western Cape Province, and Umlazi and Rietvlei in KwaZulu-Natal) between 2006 and 2008. Five interview visits were carried out between birth and up to 2 years of age (median follow-up time 18 months), and 1137 children were included in the analysis. We used Kaplan-Meier time-to-event analysis to describe vaccination coverage and timeliness in line with the Expanded Program on Immunization for the first eight vaccines. This included Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), four oral polio vaccines and 3 doses of the pentavalent vaccine which protects against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B.The proportion receiving all these eight recommended vaccines were 94% in Paarl (95% confidence interval [CI] 91-96), 62% in Rietvlei (95%CI 54-68) and 88% in Umlazi (95%CI 84-91). Slightly fewer children received all vaccines within the recommended time periods. The situation was worst for the last pentavalent- and oral polio vaccines. The hazard ratio for incomplete vaccination was 7.2 (95%CI 4.7-11) for Rietvlei compared to Paarl.There were large differences between the different South African sites in terms of vaccination coverage and timeliness, with the poorer areas of Rietvlei performing worse than the better-off areas in Paarl. The vaccination coverage was lower for the vaccines given at an older age. There is a need for continued efforts to improve vaccination coverage and timeliness, in particular in rural areas.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00397150.
| S-EPMC3126743 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Our knowledge of pharmacogenetic variability in diverse populations is scarce, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. To bridge this gap in knowledge, we characterised population frequencies of clinically relevant pharmacogenetic traits in two distinct South African population groups. We genotyped 211 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs) in 12 genes that influence antiretroviral drug disposition, in 176 South African individuals belonging to two distinct population groups residing in the Western Cape: the Xhosa (n = 109) and Cape Mixed Ancestry (CMA) (n = 67) groups. The minor allele frequencies (MAFs) of eight tagSNPs in six genes (those encoding the ATP binding cassette sub-family B, member 1 [ABCB1], four members of the cytochrome P450 family [CYP2A7P1, CYP2C18, CYP3A4, CYP3A5] and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1 [UGT1A1]) were significantly different between the Xhosa and CMA populations (Bonferroni p < 0.05). Twenty-seven haplotypes were inferred in four genes (CYP2C18, CYP3A4, the gene encoding solute carrier family 22 member 6 [SLC22A6] and UGT1A1) between the two South African populations. Characterising the Xhosa and CMA population frequencies of variant alleles important for drug transport and metabolism can help to establish the clinical relevance of pharmacogenetic testing in these populations.
| S-EPMC3525241 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundLow- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are experiencing a double-burden of malnutrition characterised by high prevalence of both under- and over-nutrition. We set out using data from the mixed-longitudinal Birth-to-Twenty Plus (Bt20+) birth cohort, to evaluate the patterns of malnutrition and growth in a large South African (SA) city by; (i) assessing the prevalence of undernutrition from birth to 5 years of age and overweight and obesity from ages 2 to 21 years in black and white, male and female children, and (ii) determining percentiles for height, weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences and comparing the centiles to American and Dutch references.MethodsHeight, weight, waist and hip circumferences were measured on urban black and white SA children from the Bt20+. A total of 3273 children born between April and June 1990 in the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan area were included in the cohort. Z-scores were derived using the WHO 2006 child growth standards (0-5 years), for defining stunting, underweight and wasting. The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) references were used to define overweight and obesity. Percentiles were developed using the lambda mu sigma (LMS) method and compared to American and Dutch references.ResultsBlack children were consistently shorter and black males lighter than white children and American references. The prevalence of stunting peaked at 2 years and was significantly higher in males than females and in black than white children. Black females had a greater prevalence of overweight and obesity than black males from 10 to 17 years. The percentiles for black females for weight and BMI were similar to those of South African white and American references but both black and white South African females had lower waist circumferences than American references.ConclusionThe growth percentiles show that young South African urban black females are experiencing general but not central obesity due to a secular change which is faster in weight than height. High levels of undernutrition persist alongside high levels of over-nutrition with adolescence being a critical period for the upsurge in obesity in females. Early intervention is needed to combat the rise in obesity.
| S-EPMC6498578 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study aimed to investigate the extent to which preschool children meet guidelines for screen time (<1 h/day) and sleep (10-13 h/24-h) and explored home factors that affect these behaviors. Parents of preschoolers across income settings in South Africa (urban high-income n = 27, urban low-income n = 96 and rural low-income n = 142) completed a questionnaire. Urban high-income children had higher rates of exceeding screen time guidelines (67.0%) than children from urban low-income (26.0%) and rural low-income (3.5%) settings. Most children (81.0%) met sleep guidelines on weekdays and on weekends (75.0%). More urban high-income children met the sleep guideline, in comparison to both low-income settings. Fewer urban high-income parents (50.0%) thought that screen time would not affect their preschooler's health, compared to urban low-income (90.4%) and rural low-income (81.7%) parents. Weeknight bedtime was positively correlated with both weekday screen time (p = 0.001) and weekday TV time (p = 0.005), indicating that more time on screens correlated with later bedtimes. Meeting screen time and sleep guidelines differs across income settings, but it is evident that parents of preschoolers across all income settings would benefit from greater awareness about guidelines.
| S-EPMC7432324 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study aimed to investigate the association between consumption of ultra-processed foods, whole foods and breast cancer risk in black women from Soweto, South Africa. A population-based case (n 396)-control (n 396) study matched on age and residence, using data from the South African Breast Cancer study. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated quantified FFQ. Food items were categorised using the NOVA system ((1) unprocessed/minimally processed foods, (2) culinary ingredients, (3) processed foods and (4) ultra-processed foods). Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate OR and 95 % CI of dietary contributions from each NOVA food group (as a percentage of total energy intake (EI)) and adjusting for potential confounders. Considering contributions to total EI per day, ultra-processed food consumption contributed to 44·8 % in cases and 47·9 % in controls, while unprocessed/minimally processed foods contributed to 38·8 % in cases and 35·2 % in controls. Unprocessed/minimally processed food consumption showed an inverse association with breast cancer risk overall (OR = 0·52, 95 % CI 0·35, 0·78), as well as in pre- and postmenopausal women separately (OR = 0·52, 95 % CI 0·27, 0·95 and OR = 0·55, 95 % CI 0·35, 0·89, respectively) and in women with progesterone positive breast cancer (OR = 0·23, 95 % CI 0·06, 0·86). There was no heterogeneity in association with breast cancer when analyses were stratified according to BMI. No significant associations were observed for the consumption of other NOVA food groups. Intake of unprocessed/minimally processed foods may reduce the risk of developing breast cancer in black women from Soweto, South Africa.
| S-EPMC9346100 | biostudies-literature
Project description:SPATIO-TEMPORAL VARIABILITY AND COMMUNITY-ASSEMBLY PROCESSES OF AIRBORNE BACTERIA ACROSS TWO URBAN AREAS
| PRJEB7001 | ENA
Project description:This article presents data derived from a 36 year-long uninterrupted observational study of amphibian populations living in the city and vicinity of Yekaterinburg, Russia. This area is inhabited by six amphibian species. Based on a degree of anthropogenic transformation, the urban territory is divided into five highly mosaic zones characterized by vegetation, temperature, and a distinctive water pollution profile. Population data is presented year-by-year for the number of animals, sex ratio, and species-specific fecundity including the number and quality of spawns for the following amphibian species: Salamandrella keyserligii, Rana arvalis, R. temporaria, Lissotriton vulgaris, and Pelophylax ridibundus. These data provide an excellent opportunity to assess an urban environment from an animal population-wide perspective, as well as revealing the forces driving animal adaptation to the anthropogenic transformation of habitats.
| S-EPMC4431527 | biostudies-literature