Medical Geography Geographical Health (Case Study: Identification of Soil and Water Contaminated with Heavy Metals and its Relationship with Cancer in Rural Areas of West of Isfahan)

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Therefore, identifying the causes of the disease and recognizing its focal role is one of the factors for the control and reduction of the disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between heavy metal in water and cancer in rural villages of Isfahan province. The statistical population of this research consists of two parts of human society and environmental data. The human population of research has two parts, the first part is related to medical documents and records in the health centers and health houses of the villages of west of Isfahan province, and the second part includes the rural communities of west of Isfahan province. Also, environmental data were heavy metals available in water and soil. The analysis of these data was done using statistical methods and the frequency of mean, percent, nominal and rank correlation, and for the analysis of water and soil, an atomic absorption device was used. For fitting these models, ARC GIS, SPSS software was used. This research was an applied one in terms of purpose and had a descriptive-analytical methodology. Documents, reports and field studies were used for data collection. The results of this study showed that the highest amount of heavy metals including manganese, copper, lead, chromium and nickel were found in rural soils that are more frequent with blood pressure and cancer. Also, there is a positive and meaningful relationship between heavy elements in water and a combination of non-contagious diseases such as blood pressure and diabetes, and cancers.