Caracterización de departamentos de Colombia basada en factores climáticos, infraestructura, acceso a servicios básicos y tasa de incidencia de dengue

Introduction. Dengue is an endemic disease in Colombia, with spatial variations influenced by climatic, socioeconomic, and basic service access factors. Territorial characterization based on these determinants helps to better understand disease distribution and design more effective control strategies.Objectives. To identify groups of departments in Colombia based on the relationship between dengue incidence rates and climatic, socioeconomic, and basic service access factors in 2023.Materials and methods. Data were collected from the National Institute of Health (INS), the National Quality of Life Survey (ECV), and satellite sources such as ERA5 and CHIRPS. Variables related to access to basic services (drinking water, sewage, and waste collection), housing deficit, temperature, precipitation, and NDVI were analyzed. To identify department clusters, a Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA) was applied to reduce dimensionality, complemented by hierarchical clustering and Self-Organizing Maps (SOM). Results. Three groups of departments with distinct characteristics were identified. The most vulnerable group (Group 3) had an average incidence rate of 1,046.87 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, associated with extreme housing deficits, limited access to basic services, and climatic conditions favorable for vector proliferation.Conclusions. The analysis identified key territorial patterns in dengue incidence, highlighting the influence of structural factors on disease transmission. These findings provide a foundation for strengthening public policies and designing more targeted prevention and control strategies in the most vulnerable regions.