Evaluation of the Social and Economic Base in the Spatial Distribution of the Diabetes Prevalence: A Case Study of Zanjan City

As cities are the focus of health services and diseases, it is noteworthy that two-thirds of the global population affected by diabetes, totaling 415 million individuals, live in urban areas. Consequently, cities have become the main centers of health interventions aimed at reducing the growing curve of diabetes. The current study aims to investigate the effect of urban factors on the prevalence of diabetes, with a particular focus on the spatial and spatial differences in Zanjan City, with an applied developmental goal.

The current study employs a descriptive survey method. Geographic information systems (GIS) have been used to understand the spatial difference in the incidence of diabetes. For this purpose, after collecting information, a database was created in ArcCatalog, and spatial statistics tools in ArcMap.

The analysis, supported by Movaren's index with a coefficient of 1.64 confirms the presence of special clusters in diabetes distribution within Zanjan City. Cold spots, indicating lower prevalence, are centered in the southern and southwestern regions, while higher incidence is observed in the northeastern and northwestern parts of the city, with a statistically significant confidence level of 99 %. The regression results also show a strong and positive relationship between certain occupational sectors, such as art and entertainment (coefficient of 2.5), transportation (coefficient of 3.5), and the food industry (coefficient of 2.01) with this disease. In terms of the spatial distribution of diabetes, there is a significant relationship. A strong and positive correlation at the 99 % confidence level can be seen in Darmangah, Shahrak Shahada, and Qeysarieh.

The findings of the present study underscore the existence of a cluster pattern in the occurrence of diabetes within Zanjan City.