Geospatial disparities and the underlying causes of major cancers for women in Taiwan
Journal
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Journal Volume
11
Journal Issue
6
Pages
5613-5627
Date Issued
2014
Author(s)
Abstract
Some specific types of cancer still pose a severe threat to the health of Taiwanese women. This study focuses on determining the geographical locations of hot spots and causal factors related to the major categories of cancers in Taiwanese women. Cancer mortality data from 1972 to 2001 of 346 townships in Taiwan were obtained from the Atlas of Cancer Mortality. Principal component analysis was conducted to determine the primary categories of female cancers. The spatial patterns of hot spots and cold spots for each major cancer category were identified using the local indicator of spatial association. Finally, the regional differences between the hot spots and cold spots were compared to confirm the possible factors causing cancer throughout Taiwan. A total of 21 cancer types in women were divided into seven major categories, which accounted for 68.0% of the total variance. The results from the spatial autocorrelation analysis showed significant spatial clusters of the cancer categories. Based on the overall consistency of results between this study and those of previous research, this study further identified the high-risk locations and some specific risk factors for major cancer types among Taiwanese women. © 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Subjects
Cancer; Environmental pollution; Geographic information system; Principal component analysis; Spatial autocorrelation; Taiwan
Other Subjects
heavy metal; pollutant; autocorrelation; cancer; GIS; health risk; mortality; pollution effect; principal component analysis; risk factor; spatial analysis; womens health; adult; aged; article; Asian; betel nut; cancer mortality; cancer risk; female; geographic distribution; health disparity; high risk population; human; indigenous people; mastication; middle aged; population density; population research; prevalence; race difference; risk assessment; risk factor; smoking; soil pollution; solid tumor; Taiwan; Taiwanese; urbanization; epidemiology; geographic information system; geographic mapping; health survey; Neoplasms; pollutant; principal component analysis; Taiwan; Adult; Aged; Environmental Pollutants; Female; Geographic Information Systems; Geographic Mapping; Health Status Disparities; Health Surveys; Humans; Middle Aged; Neoplasms; Principal Component Analysis; Taiwan
Type
journal article