Abstract:

With the Census data, we analyzed the distribution characteristics and the natural environmental backgrounds of longevity regions in Hubei in the past fifty years, using ArcGIS spatial-temporal analysis and SPSS mathematical statistics methods. The study showed that: During the past fifty years, the ratio of the centenarians between Hubei and the whole country had been lower than that of the population, and the gap with the average level of the whole country had been greater; The spatial difference of ratio of the centenarians in county area was obvious, the ratio of Hillock Farmland in Northern Hubei ranked the top, and the ratio of southwest mountainous region, Jianghan plain and hilly regions of southeastern Hubei grew rapidly; The center of gravity of the centenarians moved southeastward and gradually approached the geometric center and population mean center of the province. There were 29 relative longevity districts in the last 50 years, which were mainly distributed on the Hillock Farmland in Northern Hubei and plain-hill ecotone at the rim of the Jianghan plain, while others distributed in the low mountains and hills in northeastern, southeastern and southwestern Hubei. There were some nature-environmental features in those relative longevity districts, such as no intense heat in summer, no severe cold in winter and moderate rainfall, good airflow, lower altitude, flat terrain and soil rich in Mo, Mn, Zn and other trace elements.

Key words: Centenarians, geographic distribution, nature environment, longevity regions, health geography, Hubei Province