Investigation of spatial pattern of apnea disorder using geographic information system (GIS)-case study of Kermanshah metropolis.

Background: Apnea disorder is influenced by social and environmental factors. By assessing its hot spots and geography, the foci of this disorder and its at-risk groups can be identified for health interventions. This study was conducted to investigate the spatial pattern of apnea disorder using GIS in the Kermanshah metropolis.
Methods: In cross-sectional study was conducted in kermanshah, the statistical population were 119 people (73.95% male and 26.05% female) of Kermanshah residents, which referred to the sleep center from 2012 to 2018 due to apnea disorder. Information was collected from the records of patients referred to the Sleep Disorder Center of Farabi Hospital, which is the only service center in the west part of Iran. The statistical tests were the mean center, standard distance, Getis-Ord Gi * index, nearest neighbor index, and kernel density estimation test in GIS software.
Results: The spatial pattern of patients with apnea disorder has cluster formation in the Kermanshah metropolis. The age group of 50-54 had more apnea disorder than other age groups. In this age group, women were more prone to apnea than men. In terms of education, people with high education are more affected by this disorder; So that with the increase in education level, apnea disorder had also increased. Also, the findings showed that the disorder was more common in unemployed, married, overweight people with BMI (25-30), and obese people (30-40).
Conclusion: The spatial pattern of patients with apnea disorder was clustered and does not correspond to the high population density centers located in the marginal and slum areas of the city. These can be used by stakeholders, including governmental organizations and health authorities at the national-regional level.
Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
(© The Author(s) 2023.)