%0 Journal Article
%T Geografski Vzorci Pojavljanja Bolezni Dihalnih Poti Otrok V Ob ini Koper
%A Sa a Erlih
%A Ivan ErzKen
%J Slovenian Journal of Public Health
%@ 1854-2476
%D 2010
%I 
%R 10.2478/v10152-010-0003-z
%X Background: Chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) represent a rapidly growing health problem which is gaining on importance especially in more developed parts of the world, also in Slovenia. The respiratory diseases like asthma, chronic bronchitis and allergic respiratory diseases that are affecting airflow are becoming more and more important already in early childhood. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the geographical distribution and patterns of chronic respiratory diseases in population of pupils in Municipality Koper of southwestern Slovenia in order to identify high risk areas and possible causes. Methods: To assess the distribution of cases, the data from previous epidemiological study Prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases among children from variously polluted areas of the municipality of Koper (2003) were processed. Spatial analyses were used with an intention of identifying and assessing geographical patterns of CRD in Koper. Exploratory Data Analysis methods (EDA), Global Moran"s I and Moran Local Indicators of Spatial Associations were used to test for evidence of global and local spatial clustering, respectively. Results: The Global Moran test of spatial autocorrelation for sample revealed significant clustering (P = 0.0211). The Local Moran test of spatial auto-correlations adjusted for rates variability using both boundary and k-nearest neighbor weights was significant at the spatial scale identifying few local communities (P < 0.05). "Sveti Anton" district had significant Moran LISA value (P = 0.0454) and defines a core of a spatial cluster extending into neighboring districts "Marezige", "Dekani", "Pobegi-Cezarji" and "Vanganel". Conclusions: The study identified spatial patterns in distribution of CRD rates. The study showed that there is benefit in performing gradual spatial analyses to better define and assess geographical patterns in disease distribution of small area studies.
%K spatial epidemiology
%K chronic respiratory diseases
%K cluster analysis
%K Local Spatial Autocorrelation (LISA)
%K Moran I
%U http://versita.metapress.com/content/25t427r606x0t1q7/?p=81d924eff573454fba32c290653662e3&pi=2