Woolston, A, Tu, Y-K, Baxter, PD orcid.org/0000-0003-2699-3103 et al. (1 more author) (2012) A comparison of different approaches to unravel the latent structure within metabolic syndrome. PLoS ONE, 7 (4). e34410. ISSN 1932-6203
Abstract
Background
Exploratory factor analysis is a commonly used statistical technique in metabolic syndrome research to uncover latent structure amongst metabolic variables. The application of factor analysis requires methodological decisions that reflect the hypothesis of the metabolic syndrome construct. These decisions often raise the complexity of the interpretation from the output. We propose two alternative techniques developed from cluster analysis which can achieve a clinically relevant structure, whilst maintaining intuitive advantages of clustering methodology.
Methods
Two advanced techniques of clustering in the VARCLUS and matroid methods are discussed and implemented on a metabolic syndrome data set to analyze the structure of ten metabolic risk factors. The subjects were selected from the normative aging study based in Boston, Massachusetts. The sample included a total of 847 men aged between 21 and 81 years who provided complete data on selected risk factors during the period 1987 to 1991.
Results
Four core components were identified by the clustering methods. These are labelled obesity, lipids, insulin resistance and blood pressure. The exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation suggested an overlap of the loadings identified on the insulin resistance and obesity factors. The VARCLUS and matroid analyses separated these components and were able to demonstrate associations between individual risk factors.
Conclusions
An oblique rotation can be selected to reflect the clinical concept of a single underlying syndrome, however the results are often difficult to interpret. Factor loadings must be considered along with correlations between the factors. The correlated components produced by the VARCLUS and matroid analyses are not overlapped, which allows for a simpler application of the methodologies and interpretation of the results. These techniques encourage consistency in the interpretation whilst remaining faithful to the construct under study.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2012 Woolston et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Keywords: | Blood pressure; Factor analysis; insulin; body mass index; insulin resistance; obesity; principal component analysis; cholesterol |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Dentistry (Leeds) > Dentistry (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM) > Clinical & Population Science Dept (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM) > Specialist Science Education Dept (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 09 Sep 2019 15:17 |
Last Modified: | 09 Sep 2019 15:17 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Public Library of Science |
Identification Number: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0034410 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:105291 |