Assessing the association of multi-environmental chemical exposures on metabolic syndrome: A machine learning approach

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a major global public health concern due to its rising prevalence and association with increased risks of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Emerging evidence suggests that environmental chemical exposures may play a significant role in the development of MetS b...

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Main Authors: Yehoon Jo, Mi-Yeon Shin, Sungkyoon Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Environment International
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025002326
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author Yehoon Jo
Mi-Yeon Shin
Sungkyoon Kim
author_facet Yehoon Jo
Mi-Yeon Shin
Sungkyoon Kim
author_sort Yehoon Jo
collection DOAJ
description Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a major global public health concern due to its rising prevalence and association with increased risks of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Emerging evidence suggests that environmental chemical exposures may play a significant role in the development of MetS by disrupting metabolic pathways. This study used data from 2,960 participants in the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) cycle 4 (2018–2020) to examine associations between environmental exposures and MetS risk through machine learning (ML) approaches. Eight ML algorithms were applied, with the multilayer perceptron (MLP) and random forest (RF) models identified as optimal predictors. The MLP achieved an AUC of 0.79, and the RF achieved the highest F1 score of 0.82. Both models highlighted PFOA and PFOS, alongside age and BMI, as key predictors. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and partial dependence plots (PDP) revealed both linear and nonlinear exposure–response patterns, suggesting threshold effects for key chemicals. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating environmental exposures into MetS risk assessments. The ML models provided robust predictive performance and novel insights into chemical and metabolic interactions, advocating for regulatory measures to reduce harmful exposures and integrate environmental factors into MetS prevention strategies.
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spelling doaj-art-bc42c545c0aa46da93b61802c4b4574f2025-08-20T02:30:23ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202025-05-0119910948110.1016/j.envint.2025.109481Assessing the association of multi-environmental chemical exposures on metabolic syndrome: A machine learning approachYehoon Jo0Mi-Yeon Shin1Sungkyoon Kim2Institute of Health and Environment, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of KoreaToxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium; Corresponding authors at: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.Institute of Health and Environment, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Corresponding authors at: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a major global public health concern due to its rising prevalence and association with increased risks of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Emerging evidence suggests that environmental chemical exposures may play a significant role in the development of MetS by disrupting metabolic pathways. This study used data from 2,960 participants in the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) cycle 4 (2018–2020) to examine associations between environmental exposures and MetS risk through machine learning (ML) approaches. Eight ML algorithms were applied, with the multilayer perceptron (MLP) and random forest (RF) models identified as optimal predictors. The MLP achieved an AUC of 0.79, and the RF achieved the highest F1 score of 0.82. Both models highlighted PFOA and PFOS, alongside age and BMI, as key predictors. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and partial dependence plots (PDP) revealed both linear and nonlinear exposure–response patterns, suggesting threshold effects for key chemicals. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating environmental exposures into MetS risk assessments. The ML models provided robust predictive performance and novel insights into chemical and metabolic interactions, advocating for regulatory measures to reduce harmful exposures and integrate environmental factors into MetS prevention strategies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025002326Metabolic syndromeMachine learningKoNEHSChemical exposuresPFAS
spellingShingle Yehoon Jo
Mi-Yeon Shin
Sungkyoon Kim
Assessing the association of multi-environmental chemical exposures on metabolic syndrome: A machine learning approach
Environment International
Metabolic syndrome
Machine learning
KoNEHS
Chemical exposures
PFAS
title Assessing the association of multi-environmental chemical exposures on metabolic syndrome: A machine learning approach
title_full Assessing the association of multi-environmental chemical exposures on metabolic syndrome: A machine learning approach
title_fullStr Assessing the association of multi-environmental chemical exposures on metabolic syndrome: A machine learning approach
title_full_unstemmed Assessing the association of multi-environmental chemical exposures on metabolic syndrome: A machine learning approach
title_short Assessing the association of multi-environmental chemical exposures on metabolic syndrome: A machine learning approach
title_sort assessing the association of multi environmental chemical exposures on metabolic syndrome a machine learning approach
topic Metabolic syndrome
Machine learning
KoNEHS
Chemical exposures
PFAS
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025002326
work_keys_str_mv AT yehoonjo assessingtheassociationofmultienvironmentalchemicalexposuresonmetabolicsyndromeamachinelearningapproach
AT miyeonshin assessingtheassociationofmultienvironmentalchemicalexposuresonmetabolicsyndromeamachinelearningapproach
AT sungkyoonkim assessingtheassociationofmultienvironmentalchemicalexposuresonmetabolicsyndromeamachinelearningapproach