FOLIA GEOGRAPHICA

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Folia Geographica 2025, 67/1, pp. 5-21

EXPLORING DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIO-ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CORRELATES OF DIABETES DEATH RATES: A CASE STUDY OF CONNECTICUT, U.S.

Yunliang MENGA*

Received: December 9, 2024 | Revised: January 12, 2025 | Accepted: February 5, 2025

Paper No. 25-67/1-735

A* Central Connecticut State University, 06053, New Britain, Connecticut, USA
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3756-6334
mengy@ccsu.edu (corresponding author)


FULL TEXT

Abstract
Deaths caused by diabetes have increased significantly over the past 2 decades, becoming a public health concern in the U.S. Guided by social determinants of health theory, this research uses Ordinary Least Squares regression to examine the relationship between diabetes death rates and contextual demographic, socio-economic and environmental characteristics at the county subdivision level in the State of Connecticut, U.S. The results show that explanatory variables, such as percent of Hispanic population, population density, unemployment rate, the percent of population beyond 1 mile from supermarket, the percent of population beyond 1 mile for urban areas or 10 miles for rural areas from supermarket, the percent of households reported not having sufficient funds in the last 12 months to purchase food are statistically significantly associated with diabetes death rates. This research enables health practitioners and policy makers to gain a better understanding of the demographic, socio-economic and environmental determinants of diabetes death rates at the county subdivision level. Accordingly, provided are policies to reduce the death rates. This study presents an initial and exploratory step towards better understanding of diabetes death rates in Connecticut, U.S., but much more in-depth work is needed before health researchers and practitioners understand why explanatory factors only explained up to 57.8% of the diabetes death rates in the state.

Key words
 Diabetes Death Risk, Regression, Connecticut.

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