Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42690571›Full record

SynthesisCurrent environmental health reports2026

Air Pollution and Heat Impacts on Respiratory Morbidity and Mortality Outcomes in Africa: A Systematic Review Towards a Meta-analysis.

Caradee Y Wright, Thandi Kapwata, Viwe Dikoko, Chantelle Howlett-Downing, Natasha Naidoo

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-AnalysisReview
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Current environmental health reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Caradee Y WrightEnvironment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, SAMRC, 1 Soutpansberg Road, Pretoria, South Africa. caradee.wright@mrc.ac.za.
Thandi KapwataEnvironment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Viwe DikokoEnvironment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Chantelle Howlett-DowningEnvironment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, SAMRC, 1 Soutpansberg Road, Pretoria, South Africa.
Natasha NaidooEnvironment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Durban, South Africa.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purpose of the reviewThis review synthesised evidence on associations between air pollution and respiratory morbidity in Africa. Following PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched PubMed, ScienceDirect and Elicit for case-control studies published between 2015 and 2025. RECENT

findingsThirteen studies from ten African countries reported pollutant levels far exceeding WHO guidelines. Indoor PM₂.₅ in biomass-using homes ranged from 96 to 177 µg/m³, and ambient PM₂.₅ reached 259 µg/m³. Nitrogen oxides were consistently associated with reduced lung function in children, while household air pollution increased risks of under-five mortality and low birthweight. Associations with acute respiratory infections varied across settings. Vulnerability was greatest among young children, those with airway hyperresponsiveness, and households with poor ventilation. Only three studies included temperature, and none examined heat-respiratory interactions. Across African case-control studies, particulate matter and household air pollution remain consistently linked to adverse respiratory outcomes, highlighting urgent needs for cleaner fuels, improved ventilation, and stronger evidence on combined pollution and heat exposures.

Indexed as

Air PollutionEnvironmental ExposureHot TemperatureRespiratory Tract DiseasesAfricaAir PollutantsAir Pollution, IndoorHumansParticulate MatterAir PollutantsParticulate MatterClimate changeEnvironmental healthPolicyPreparednessPublic health (n = 6 max)

Identifiers

PMID42690571
PMCPMC13541811

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.