Unveiling Fall Triggers in Older Adults: A Machine Learning Graphical Model Analysis

• Published in: Mathematics (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 9; p. 1271
• Main Authors: Nguyen, Tho, Thiamwong, Ladda, Lou, Qian, Xie, Rui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Adults; Aging; Analysis; Balance; Body composition; Chronic illnesses; Composition; Correlation analysis; COVID-19; Disease prevention; Distribution (Probability theory); Exercise; fall risks; Falls; Falls (Accidents); Fatalities; Forecasts and trends; Machine learning; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; mixed graphical models; Mortality; older adults; Older people; Public health; Questionnaires; Risk analysis; Risk assessment; Risk factors; Sociodemographics; undirected graphical models; Morocco; United States > US; correlation analysis; undirected graphical models; mixed graphical models; older adults; 62-08; fall risks; machine learning; aging research
• ISSN: 2227-7390; 2227-7390
• DOI: 10.3390/math12091271

While existing research has identified diverse fall risk factors in adults aged 60 and older across various areas, comprehensively examining the interrelationships between all factors can enhance our knowledge of complex mechanisms and ultimately prevent falls. This study employs a novel approach-a (MUGM)-to unravel the interplay between sociodemographics, mental well-being, body composition, self-assessed and performance-based fall risk assessments, and physical activity patterns. Using a parameterized joint probability density, MUGMs specify the higher-order dependence structure and reveals the underlying graphical structure of heterogeneous variables. The MUGM consisting of mixed types of variables (continuous and categorical) has versatile applications that provide innovative and practical insights, as it is equipped to transcend the limitations of traditional correlation analysis and uncover sophisticated interactions within a high-dimensional data set. Our study included 120 elders from central Florida whose 37 fall risk factors were analyzed using an MUGM. Among the identified features, 34 exhibited pairwise relationships, while COVID-19-related factors and housing composition remained conditionally independent from all others. The results from our study serve as a foundational exploration, and future research investigating the longitudinal aspects of these features plays a pivotal role in enhancing our knowledge of the dynamics contributing to fall prevention in this population.