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Spatial association of respiratory health with social and environmental factors: case study of Cook County, Illinois, USA

ABSTRACT People who live with respiratory diseases like asthma are more likely at risk of serious illness. Spatial analytic techniques allow for discovering areas of concern and finding correlates of asthma prevalence. The purpose of the study is to describe socioeconomic factors associated with asthma prevalence in Cook County, IL, and to identify the significant risks and the protective factors to control asthma. This paper illustrates the utility of spatial regression in the analysis and presentation of spatially distributed asthma prevalence at the census tract level in Cook County, IL. In addition, we map the spatial variation of asthma prevalence with variation in the tree canopy, access to medical centers, air quality, and household quality. Lastly, we use bivariate mapping to illustrate the spatial distributions of residential land use and tree cover. Our findings indicate that asthma is associated with socioeconomic and physical factors, including the share of people aged 17 and younger, age 65 and older, with disabilities, the percentage of minorities with the language barrier, tree canopy, access to medical centers, and air pollution quality, and household quality. Results may guide further decisions in planning for asthma research and intervention, especially for identifying vulnerable areas and people.