TY - JOUR T1 - Use of geographical information system (GIS) in prevalence studies JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 44 IS - Suppl 58 SP - P4156 AU - Veena Muralidharan AU - Sundeep Salvi AU - Jyoti Londhe AU - Somnath Sambhudas AU - Vijendra Ingole AU - Bill Brashier AU - Peter Barnes AU - Malcolm Green AU - Sanjay Juvekar Y1 - 2014/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P4156.abstract N2 - A GIS approach provides visualization of spatial patterns in prevalence of diseases.Aim:To determine spatial pattern and association of geographical risk factors on prevalence of COPD among fuel users in a rural setting of India.A total of 3,592 individuals participated in the study conducted in the rural setting of Vadu Health and Demographic Surveillance System(HDSS)in Pune district,India.The participants filled in respiratory health questionnaire and performed pre and post bronchodilator spirometry(ndd Spirometer) according to the ATS/ERS standards.Global Positioning system(Garmin eTrex, USA) was used to record the spatial information and ArcGIS 9.3,USA was used for GIS mapping and analysis.Using GIS tools, two spatial groups were defined;those living less than 500m of the motor highways and those living beyond 500m. Spatial statistics and logistic regression analysis was used to determine the spatial distribution of COPD and its association with geographic risk factors.Results:The COPD subjects residing <500m from the highway (Moran's Index=0.24;p<0.4)are randomly distributed.72% of individuals residing <500m from the highway use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking and have strong association between COPD prevalence and proximity to highways [OR:3.6(CI: 1.55-8.37);p<0.005].Individuals residing >500m from the highway show significantly clustered pattern(Moran's Index=1.7;p<0.001) and have higher prevalence of COPD which is strongly associated with the use of biomass fuel [OR:2.41(CI: 1.03-5.62);p<0.05].Conclusion:The prevalence of COPD among LPG users is significantly associated with the proximity to highways while those residing away from the highway show three-fold prevalence due to use of bio-fuels. ER -