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Machine Learning-Based Prediction of Hemoglobinopathies Using Complete Blood Count Data

Clinical Chemistry, vol. 70, pp. 1064–1075

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hemoglobinopathies, the most common inherited blood disorder, are frequently underdiagnosed. Early identification of carriers is important for genetic counseling of couples at risk. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a novel machine learning model on a multicenter data set, covering a wide spectrum of hemoglobinopathies based on routine complete blood count (CBC) testing. METHODS: Hemoglobinopathy test results from 10 322 adults were extracted retrospectively from 8 Dutch laboratories. eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) and logistic regression models were developed to differentiate negative from positive hemoglobinopathy cases, using 7 routine CBC parameters. External validation was conducted on a data set from an independent Dutch laboratory, with an additional external validation on a Spanish data set (n = 2629) specifically for differentiating thalassemia from iron deficiency anemia (IDA). RESULTS: The XGB and logistic regression models achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) of 0.88 and 0.84, respectively, in distinguishing negative from positive hemoglobinopathy cases in the independent external validation set. Subclass analysis showed that the XGB model reached an AUROC of 0.97 for β-thalassemia, 0.98 for α0-thalassemia, 0.95 for homozygous α+-thalassemia, 0.78 for heterozygous α+-thalassemia, and 0.94 for the structural hemoglobin variants Hemoglobin C, Hemoglobin D, Hemoglobin E. Both models attained AUROCs of 0.95 in differentiating IDA from thalassemia. CONCLUSIONS: Both the XGB and logistic regression model demonstrate high accuracy in predicting a broad range of hemoglobinopathies and are effective in differentiating hemoglobinopathies from IDA. Integration of these models into the laboratory information system facilitates automated hemoglobinopathy detection using routine CBC parameters.

Authors 17

  1. Radboud University Nijmegen · Radboud University Medical Center · Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis

    Affiliation as printed

    Diagnostic Image Analysis Group, Radboudumc , Nijmegen , the Netherlands

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Hematology, Jeroen Bosch Hospital’s , Hertogenbosch , the Netherlands

  2. Radboud University Nijmegen · Radboud University Medical Center · Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Radiology, Jeroen Bosch Hospital’s , Hertogenbosch , the Netherlands

    Diagnostic Image Analysis Group, Radboudumc , Nijmegen , the Netherlands

  3. Amphia Ziekenhuis

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Amphia Hospital , Breda , the Netherlands

  4. Leiden University Medical Center

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Clinical Genetics, Laboratory for Genome Diagnostics, Leiden University Medical Center , Leiden , the Netherlands

  5. Hospital de Galdakao

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratory of Hematology, Hospital Universitario Galdakao Usansolo , Galdakao , Spain

  6. Maasstad Ziekenhuis

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry, Maasstad Hospital , Rotterdam , the Netherlands

  7. Isala

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Isala Hospital , Zwolle , the Netherlands

  8. Medisch Spectrum Twente

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Hematology, Medisch Spectrum Twente/Medlon BV , Enschede , the Netherlands

  9. Medisch Spectrum Twente

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Hematology, Medisch Spectrum Twente/Medlon BV , Enschede , the Netherlands

  10. Maasstad Ziekenhuis · Canisius-Wilhelmina Ziekenhuis

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital , Nijmegen , the Netherlands

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry, Maasstad Hospital , Rotterdam , the Netherlands

  11. Máxima Medisch Centrum

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Máxima Medical Center , Eindhoven , the Netherlands

  12. Meander Medisch Centrum

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Meander Medical Center , Amersfoort , the Netherlands

  13. Zuyderland Medisch Centrum

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Clinical Chemistry and Haematology, Zuyderland Medical Center , Sittard/Heerlen , the Netherlands

  14. Leiden University Medical Center

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Clinical Genetics, Laboratory for Genome Diagnostics, Leiden University Medical Center , Leiden , the Netherlands

  15. Radboud University Nijmegen · Radboud University Medical Center

    Affiliation as printed

    Diagnostic Image Analysis Group, Radboudumc , Nijmegen , the Netherlands

  16. Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis · University of Twente

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Health Technology and Services Research, Technical Medical Centre, University of Twente , Enschede , the Netherlands

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Hematology, Jeroen Bosch Hospital’s , Hertogenbosch , the Netherlands

  17. Steef Kurstjens corresponding

    Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Hematology, Jeroen Bosch Hospital’s , Hertogenbosch , the Netherlands

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References 36