Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Their Influencing Factors in Urumqi, China

Abstract

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) remains a serious health threat to young children. Urumqi is one of the most severely affected cities in northwestern China. This study aims to identify the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of HFMD, and explore the relationships between driving factors and HFMD in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Methods: HFMD surveillance data from 2014 to 2018 were obtained from the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The center of gravity and geographical detector model were used to analyze the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of HFMD and identify the association between these characteristics and socioeconomic and meteorological factors. Results: A total of 10,725 HFMD cases were reported in Urumqi during the study period. Spatially, the morbidity number of HFMD differed regionally and the density was higher in urban districts than in rural districts. Overall, the development of HFMD in Urumqi expanded toward the southeast. Temporally, we observed that the risk of HFMD peaked from June to July. Furthermore, socioeconomic and meteorological factors, including population density, road density, GDP, temperature and precipitation were significantly associated with the occurrence of HFMD. Conclusions: HFMD cases occurred in spatiotemporal clusters. Our findings showed strong associations between HFMD and socioeconomic and meteorological factors. We comprehensively considered the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and influencing factors of HFMD, and proposed some intervention strategies that may assist in predicting the morbidity number of HFMD.

Spatial homogeneity pursuit of regression coefficients for hand, foot and mouth disease in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2018

“…The results show that the regression coefficients have different spatial clustering patterns for different seasons. Compared with previous studies 25 – 27 , the AT, ARH, AP and AW factors all have an impact on the number of HFMD cases in Xinjiang. The existing studies have shown that the incidence of HFMD in northern Xinjiang is higher because of its high population density, which is consistent with the results of this study.…”

Effects of Meteorological Factors and Atmospheric Pollution on Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease in Urumqi Region

“…It analyzes the effects of atmospheric pollution and climatic factors on such incidences in northwestern China simultaneously for the very time, offering important implications for reducing them in western China, as well as for other regions with similar natural and social environments, such as the central region of the United States and Afghanistan. Besides meteorological factors and atmospheric pollutants, experts such as Gao et al ( 21 ), Liu et al ( 22 ), and Sun et al ( 23 ) have also started to gradually focus on the influence of socioeconomic factors on HFMD in recent years, providing ideas for further development of our study.…”

Complex interaction between meteorological factors on the risk of hand, foot, and mouth disease

“…temperature). Without assessing the relationship between meteorological factors, Gao et al (2021) and Li et al (2018) also found that GDP was positively associated with increased HFMD incidence. This association was potentially due to susceptible people in cities with a higher GDP having more access to resources (e.g.…”