A Decision Support System for Machine Learning-Based Determination of Zinc Deficiency: A Study in Adolescent Patients

Background: Over the past three years, zinc deficiency among adolescents has varied based on region and access to healthcare. Globally, zinc deficiency affects approximately 2 billion people, leading to serious issues such as immune problems and growth delays, particularly in developing countries. In the U.S., around 10% of adolescents experienced zinc deficiency in 2021, with a higher prevalence among teenage girls. In Europe, deficiency rates are generally low but can be significant in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In Asia, particularly in rural and low-income areas, deficiency rates range from 20 - 30%. In Turkey, the prevalence is high due to poor nutrition. Objectives: This study aimed to develop a machine learning-based decision support system to determine zinc deficiency in children and adolescents aged 10 - 18 years. Methods: This machine learning-based study was conducted with 370 adolescents aged 10 - 18 years to assess their zinc deficiency. The dataset consists of 8 feature vectors and an output vector. The machine learning methods used in the analysis include logistic regression, naive bayes, decision tree (CART), K-nearest neighbors (K-NN), support vector machine (SVM), gradient boosting classifier, AdaBoost classifier, bagging classifier, random forest classifier, multilayer perceptron (MLP) classifier, and XGBoost (XGB) classifier. Evaluation metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score were used to assess the performance of these methods. Including specific values for these metrics, such as "SVM achieved 94.6% accuracy," would allow readers to quickly compare the effectiveness of the models. Different metrics serve various purposes: Accuracy provides an overall view of performance, precision and recall highlight specific aspects, and the F1 score balances precision and recall. Results: The mean age of the patients in the dataset was 13.79 ± 1.18 years. Of the children, 64.32% (n = 238) were female and 35.68% (n = 132) were male. It was found that 62.7% (n = 232) of the children had low zinc levels, while 37.3% (n = 138) did not require zinc supplementation. Thirteen different machine learning methods were applied to a 70% training and 30% testing set. As a result, the SVM method provided the most successful outcome with 94.6% accuracy. Implementing the SVM-based system in pediatric clinics could improve efficiency and patient care by automatically detecting high-risk zinc deficiency patients based on lab results, providing early intervention alerts for faster treatment, and improving health outcomes. Highlighting these practical applications could increase the study’s appeal to healthcare professionals by demonstrating its real-world benefits. Providing detailed information on these applications would enhance the study’s clarity and practical value, making it more valuable for researchers and healthcare providers interested in AI tools for adolescent health. Conclusions: This study concluded that machine learning methods can effectively determine zinc deficiency in children. The SVM method demonstrated superior classification performance compared to the other methods. An SVM-based decision support system could be integrated into pediatric outpatient clinics to enhance diagnostic accuracy and patient care.