Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects an estimated 14.2 million US adults as of 2021. COPD is is chronic disease that results in permanent lung and airway damage that makes it difficult to breathe. COPD can be prevented through receiving recommended vaccinations, avoiding smoking, and secondhand smoke as well as lung damaging pollutants. The CDC found that the incidence of COPD increases if one is born female, has increasing age, decreasing education level, and decreasing urbanicity. In 2022 it was reported that 58.9% of adults in Morris County had a bachelor’s degree or higher, which was higher than the national average of 23% in 2022. COPD numbers are largely affected by demographic disparities, such as education.
Data: The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducts a routine national survey known as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). In partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the CDC released local level estimates on COPD prevalence for 2020 and 2021.
Madison Drew Tract ERI – ACS Regional Map COPD
Madison Morris County ERI – ACS Regional Map COPD
Results: In Morris County, the estimated prevalence of COPD (%) was 4.7 with 95% CI (4.2, 5.3) , and the age-adjusted prevalence (%) was 3.9 (3.5, 4.4) in 2022. According to Census 2022 county population estimates, 407,308 people aged 18 or older live in Morris. In the census tract with Drew University, the estimated prevalence of COPD (%) was 2.7 with 95% CI (2.4, 3.1) in 2022. According to Census 2020, there were 3,829 people aged 18 years or older that live in this tract.
Conclusion: Understanding the demographic disparities that affect the prevalence of COPD diagnosis is important for insight into local and county health departments where education about the risk factors of COPD can take place.
Health measures are important in understanding how to maintain health as a society. Learning where there are large populations affected by something such as COPD can help society to fill the gap on health education, so people can learn and live a healthier lifestyle to prevent disease, and sickness.
About the Data: The CDC Places data sets are part of a series, spelling out the acronym as Place Level Analysis and Community Estimates. The latest estimates are for 2020 and 2021 for U.S. Census Tracts.
Other data sources visualized in the images here and on web maps are from the New Jersey Office of GIS (including County and Municipal Boundaries of New Jersey).
Find this resource online:
Madison Environmental Resource Inventory
A web map of the county level PLACES results can be found here:
A web map of the census tract results for Madison can be found here:
Author:
Emilie Tobin, Drew University
ENV 302 – Geographic Information Systems
Fall 2024
