<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><article><front><Journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type='publisher'>CWE/1746/2025</journal-id><journal-title >Current World Environment</journal-title><issn pub-type='PPub'>0973-4929</issn><issn pub-type='ePub'>2320-8031</issn><publisher><publisher-name>4</publisher-name></publisher></Journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type='other'>CWE--98-00</article-id><title-group><article-title>&lt;p&gt;A Geographical Analysis of Non-Communicable Diseases Among Tribal Population of North Maharashtra&lt;/p&gt;</article-title></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type='author'><name><surname></surname><given-names></given-names></name><xref ref-type='aff' rid='aff00'><sup></sup></xref></contrib><contrib contrib-type='author'><name><surname></surname><given-names></given-names></name><xref ref-type='aff' rid='aff00'><sup></sup></xref></contrib></contrib-group><aff id='aff001'><sup>1</sup><instname></instname>,<deptname>Department of Geography</deptname>, <instaddress>K. C. E. Society's Moolji Jaitha College (Autonomous)</instaddress>, <instcity>Jalgaon</instcity>, <instcountry>India</instcountry>.</aff><pub-date pub-type='ppub'><publicationDate></publicationDate></pub-date><doi>10.12944/CWE.20.3.24</doi><volume>Volume 20</volume><issue>Volume 20</issue><page>1265-1275</page><abstract><title>Abstract</title><p>This study examines the emergence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among tribal populations in North Maharashtra, India, with a focus on the districts of Nandurbar, Dhule, and Jalgaon. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between 2022 and 2023, covering 400 households selected through multistage stratified random sampling, supplemented with secondary data from NFHS-5. Using village-scale GIS mapping, epidemiological survey data, and Random Forest modeling, the study analyzed the prevalence and spatial distribution of major NCDs—cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, and chronic respiratory illnesses. Results showed a prevalence of 32.4% for cardiovascular diseases, 28.7% for diabetes, 25.6% for hypertension, and 21.3% for chronic respiratory diseases, with comorbidity observed in 43.2% of cases. High-risk clusters were identified in Nandurbar, with spatial autocorrelation values (Moran’s I = 0.67, p &lt; 0.001) indicating significant clustering. Environmental factors such as elevation, distance to healthcare facilities, and socioeconomic determinants were strongly correlated with NCD prevalence (r = 0.45–0.72, p &lt; 0.01). The findings highlight the urgent need for geographically and culturally sensitive public health policies, improved healthcare accessibility, and targeted community-based interventions, including mobile health units and integration of traditional practices with modern medicine, to address the rising NCD burden in tribal populations.</p></abstract><kwd-group><title>Keywords</title><kwd>GIS mapping</kwd><kwd> Healthcare accessibility</kwd><kwd> Non-communicable diseases (NCDs)</kwd><kwd> Public health interventions</kwd><kwd> Socioeconomic determinants</kwd><kwd> Tribal populations</kwd></kwd-group><counts><ref-count count='' /><page-count count='' /></counts></article-meta></front></article>