Exploring Heterogeneity with Category and Cluster Analyses for Mixed Data

Veronica Distefano, Maria Mannone () and Irene Poli
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Veronica Distefano: European Centre for Living Technology (ECLT), Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 30123 Venice, Italy
Maria Mannone: European Centre for Living Technology (ECLT), Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 30123 Venice, Italy
Irene Poli: European Centre for Living Technology (ECLT), Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 30123 Venice, Italy

Stats, 2023, vol. 6, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Precision medicine aims to overcome the traditional one-model-fits-the-whole-population approach that is unable to detect heterogeneous disease patterns and make accurate personalized predictions. Heterogeneity is particularly relevant for patients with complications of type 2 diabetes, including diabetic kidney disease (DKD). We focus on a DKD longitudinal dataset, aiming to find specific subgroups of patients with characteristics that have a close response to the therapeutic treatment. We develop an approach based on some particular concepts of category theory and cluster analysis to explore individualized modelings and achieving insights onto disease evolution. This paper exploits the visualization tools provided by category theory, and bridges category-based abstract works and real datasets. We build subgroups deriving clusters of patients at different time points, considering a set of variables characterizing the state of patients. We analyze how specific variables affect the disease progress, and which drug combinations are more effective for each cluster of patients. The retrieved information can foster individualized strategies for DKD treatment.

Keywords: precision medicine; DKD disease; distance; cluster analysis; category theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C1 C10 C11 C14 C15 C16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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