Gestatistical analysis of diabetes type 2 and obesity distribution pattern in a rapid urbanizing region

Abstract

Diabetes is a non-communicable chronic disease that has been little considered in built environment and urban planning studies. Obesity is also known as a risk factor that contributes to the prevalence of diabetes type 2. Obesity and diabetes are on the rise particularly in highly urbanizing areas in the world. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the spatial pattern of distribution of diabetes patients in a rapid urbanizing area in Malaysia. The study also examines the relation of diabetes pattern and obesity as an indicator of physical inactivity measuring Body Mass Index (BMI). The global and local methods of spatial autocorrelation statistics was conducted to determine the spatial distribution pattern of 498 patients diagnosed with diabetes type 2 in 165 neighborhoods of lskandar Malaysia as a rapid urbanizing region. The results revealed that the distribution pattern of the patients is clustered with statistical significance level of 99%. The pattern of patients with BMI more than 27.8 is matched with the hotspot of diabetes patients. Overall, this study indicates a significant relation between diabetes type 2 and physical inactivity in highly urbanized areas of lskandar Malaysia Region.