A systematic analysis of assorted machine learning classifiers to assess their potential in accurate prediction of dementia

Abstract

PurposeThis study aimed to assess the potential of the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale in the prognosis of dementia in elderly subjects.Design/methodology/approachDementia staging severity is clinically an essential task, so the authors used machine learning (ML) on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features to locate and study the impact of various MR readings onto the classification of demented and nondemented patients. The authors used cross-sectional MRI data in this study. The designed ML approach established the role of CDR in the prognosis of inflicted and normal patients. Moreover, the pattern analysis indicated CDR as a strong cohort amongst the various attributes, with CDR to have a significant value of p < 0.01. The authors employed 20 ML classifiers.FindingsThe mean prediction accuracy varied with the various ML classifier used, with the bagging classifier (random forest as a base estimator) achieving the highest (93.67%). A series of ML analyses demonstrated that the model including the CDR score had better prediction accuracy and other related performance metrics.Originality/valueThe results suggest that the CDR score, a simple clinical measure, can be used in real community settings. It can be used to predict dementia progression with ML modeling.