A study led by Adnan Custovic from the University of Manchester analyzing two surveys ten years apart (1993 and 2003) among 9-16 yr old schoolchildren attending urban and rural schools in Ghana showed that the prevalence of both exercise-induced bronchospasm and atopy had approximately doubled over the period.

A related essay puts this survey into context through a discussion of the epidemiology of asthma in Africa.

Citation: Addo-Yobo EOD, Woodcock A, Allotey A, Baffoe-Bonnie B, Strachan D, et al. (2007) Exercise-induced bronchospasm and atopy in Ghana: Two surveys ten years apart. PLoS Med 4(2): e70.

CONTACT:
Adnan Custovic
University of Manchester
North West Lung Centre
Wythenshawe Hospital
Manchester, M23 9LT United Kingdom

Related PLoS Medicine Essay:

What do we know about asthma in Africa?

A recent study published in PLoS Medicine found an increase in the prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases in children in Ghana between 1993 and 2003. In an essay in this week's PLoS Medicine, two asthma researchers discuss how asthma in Africa differs from asthma in industrialized countries.

Matthias Wjst (Institut für Epidemiologie, GSF-Forschungszentrum für Umwelt und Gesundheit, Germany) and Daniel Boakye (University of Ghana) say that while asthma symptoms are the same in Africa and the West, there are differences in risk factors and prevalence, and the disease may be caused in different ways.

Citation: Wjst M, Boakye D (2007) Asthma in Africa. PLoS Med 4(2): e72.

CONTACT:
Matias Wjst
GSF Natl Res Ctr Envir Health
EPI/MOLEPI
Ingolstädter Landstr.1
Munich-Neuherberg, Bavaria 85764 Germany

Contact: Andrew Hyde
Public Library of Science