The Relationship Between High Altitude and Cardiovascular Mortality Rates

Öz

Aim: This study aims to determine whether there is a significant correlation between altitude and cardiovascular disease(CVD) mortality rates using publicly available data from 81 provinces in Türkiye. Material and Methods: The data in this study were obtained from publicly available provincial data of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). The data were analyzed using Spearman correlation and linear regression via SPSS 25.0. The significance threshold was set at p<0.05. Results: A statistically significant negative correlation was observed between altitude and cardiovascular mortality rates (r = -0.220, p = 0.048). Regression analysis, however, indicated that altitude alone explained only 1.9% of the variance in CVD death rates (Adj. R2 = 0.019, p = 0.224). Conclusion: While there is a weak but statistically significant inverse relationship between altitude and cardiovascular mortality rates in Turkey, altitude alone is not a strong predictor. Further multifactorial studies are needed to elucidate additional environmental and socioeconomic contributors.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Altitude
• cardiac
• vascular diseases
• death

Yüksek İrtifa ve Kardiyovasküler Ölüm Oranları Arasındaki İlişki

Öz

Amaç: Bu çalışmada, Türkiye'deki 81 ilden kamuya açık veriler kullanılarak yükseklik ile kardiyovasküler hastalık (KVH) ölüm oranları arasında anlamlı bir ilişki olup olmadığı belirlenmeye çalışılmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu çalışmada kullanılan veriler Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu'nun (TÜİK) kamuya açık il verilerinden elde edilmiştir. Veriler SPSS 25.0 üzerinden Spearman korelasyonu ve doğrusal regresyon kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Anlamlılık eşiği p<0,05 olarak belirlenmiştir. Bulgular: Yükseklik ile kardiyovasküler ölüm oranları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı negatif bir korelasyon gözlenmiştir (r = -0,220, p = 0,048). Ancak regresyon analizi, yüksekliğin tek başına KVH ölüm oranlarındaki varyansın yalnızca %1,9'unu açıkladığını göstermiştir (Adj. R2 = 0,019, p = 0,224). Sonuç: Türkiye'de yükseklik ile kardiyovasküler ölüm oranları arasında zayıf ancak istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir ters ilişki olmasına rağmen, yükseklik tek başına güçlü bir öngörücü değildir. Ek çevresel ve sosyoekonomik etkenlerin açıklığa kavuşturulması için daha fazla çok faktörlü çalışmaya ihtiyaç vardır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Yükseklik
• kalp
• damar hastalıkları
• ölüm

Kaynakça

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