Psychosocial-Behavioral Phenotyping: A Novel Precision Health Approach to Modeling Behavioral, Psychological, and Social Determinants of Health Using Machine Learning

BACKGROUND: The context in which a behavioral intervention is delivered is an important source of variability and systematic approaches are needed to identify and quantify contextual factors that may influence intervention efficacy. Machine learning-based phenotyping methods can contribute to a new precision health paradigm by informing personalized behavior interventions. Two primary goals of precision health, identifying population subgroups and highlighting behavioral intervention targets, can be addressed with psychosocial-behavioral phenotypes. We propose a method for psychosocial-behavioral phenotyping that models social determinants of health in addition to individual-level psychological and behavioral factors. PURPOSE: To demonstrate a novel application of machine learning for psychosocial-behavioral phenotyping, the identification of subgroups with similar combinations of psychosocial characteristics. METHODS: In this secondary analysis of psychosocial and behavioral data from a community cohort (n = 5,883), we optimized a multichannel mixed membership model (MC3M) using Bayesian inference to identify psychosocial-behavioral phenotypes and used logistic regression to determine which phenotypes were associated with elevated weight status (BMI ≥ 25kg/m(2)). RESULTS: We identified 20 psychosocial-behavioral phenotypes. Phenotypes were conceptually consistent as well as discriminative; most participants had only one active phenotype. Two phenotypes were significantly positively associated with elevated weight status; four phenotypes were significantly negatively associated. Each phenotype suggested different contextual considerations for intervention design. CONCLUSIONS: By depicting the complexity of psychological and social determinants of health while also providing actionable insight about similarities and differences among members of the same community, psychosocial-behavioral phenotypes can identify potential intervention targets in context.