Oryshkewych, Nina
(2022)
Prediction of Apgar Score Using Statistical Learning.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Background: Apgar score is a measure of neonatal health. A low Apgar score has been linked to several adverse health outcomes. Ambient air pollution has been shown to be a major threat to public health, but there is limited research on the relationship between maternal exposure to air pollution and Apgar score.
Methods: Maternal exposure to air pollution was calculated for each trimester and for each of the seven criteria air pollutants based on the nearest monitor to each mother’s residence. A combination of random over- and under-sampling was performed on the training data to balance the class distribution of Apgar score. Extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and logistic regression were used to build eight classification models – two using all predictors and six trimester-specific models.
Results: All models had poor discriminative ability. The best performing model was the XGBoost second trimester model, with an AUC of 0.627. In the XGBoost models, gestational age appeared to be the most important predictor of Apgar score, followed by the air pollution exposure variables. In the logistic regression models, gestational age was the most significant predictor.
Conclusion: Gestational age is the primary driver of Apgar score, and exposure to air pollution may be important as well. While none of the models had adequate predictive ability, there are a few limitations to this study that may have hindered their performance. Future research should consider more sophisticated resampling techniques as well as geospatial modelling of pollution concentrations in order to improve the quality of the data.
Public Health Significance: While many studies have investigated the consequences of a low Apgar score, existing research lacks in exploration of factors that influence Apgar score. This study suggests the possibility that exposure to ambient air pollution could be linked to a low five minute Apgar score. A classification model for Apgar score could guide practitioners and public health officials in implementing preventative measures to protect neonatal health.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Oryshkewych, Nina | nso6@pitt.edu | nso6 | |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
12 May 2022 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
25 April 2022 |
| Approval Date: |
12 May 2022 |
| Submission Date: |
28 April 2022 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
86 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Public Health > Biostatistics |
| Degree: |
MS - Master of Science |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Apgar score, air pollution, statistical learning, classification |
| Date Deposited: |
12 May 2022 13:46 |
| Last Modified: |
12 May 2022 13:46 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/42846 |
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