Elucidating the underlying causes of oral cancer through spatial clustering in high-risk areas of Taiwan with a distinct gender ratio of incidence

Submitted: 22 December 2014
Accepted: 22 December 2014
Published: 1 May 2010
Abstract Views: 2051
PDF: 800
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

This study aimed to elucidate whether or not high-risk clusters of oral cancer (OC) incidence spatially correlate with the prevalence rates of betel quid chewing (BQC) and cigarette smoking (CS) in Taiwan. The spatial autocorrelation and potential clusters of OC incidence among the 307 townships and heavy metal content of soil throughout Taiwan were identified using the Anselin's local Moran test. Additionally, the spatial correlations among the incidence of OC, the prevalence of BQC and CS and heavy metal content of soil were determined based on a comparison of spatial clusters. High-risk OC (Moran's I = 0.638, P <0.001) clusters were located in central and eastern Taiwan, while hot spots of BQC and CS prevalence were located mainly in eastern Taiwan. The distributions of BQC and CS lifestyle factors (P <0.001) were spatially autocorrelated. The hot spots of OC largely coincided with the hot spots of BQC, except for the Changhua and Yunlin counties, which are located in central Taiwan. However, high soil contents of nickel and chromium (P <0.001) in central Taiwan also coincided with the high-risk areas of OC incidence. In particular, Changhua county has incurred several decades of serious heavy-metal pollution, with inhabitants living in polluted areas having high-risk exposure to these metals. Results of this study suggest that, in addition to BQC and CS, anthropogenic pollution may profoundly impact the complexity of OC aetiology in central Taiwan.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

How to Cite

Chiang, C.-T., Hwang, Y.-H., Su, C.-C., Tsai, K.-Y., Lian, I.-B., Yuan, T.-H., & Chang, T.-K. (2010). Elucidating the underlying causes of oral cancer through spatial clustering in high-risk areas of Taiwan with a distinct gender ratio of incidence. Geospatial Health, 4(2), 231–242. https://doi.org/10.4081/gh.2010.203

List of Cited By :

Crossref logo