Toward characterizing cardiovascular fitness using machine learning based on unobtrusive data

PLoS One. 2023 Mar 2;18(3):e0282398. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282398. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is a non-invasive approach to measure the maximum oxygen uptake ([Formula: see text]), which is an index to assess cardiovascular fitness (CF). However, CPET is not available to all populations and cannot be obtained continuously. Thus, wearable sensors are associated with machine learning (ML) algorithms to investigate CF. Therefore, this study aimed to predict CF by using ML algorithms using data obtained by wearable technologies. For this purpose, 43 volunteers with different levels of aerobic power, who wore a wearable device to collect unobtrusive data for 7 days, were evaluated by CPET. Eleven inputs (sex, age, weight, height, and body mass index, breathing rate, minute ventilation, total hip acceleration, walking cadence, heart rate, and tidal volume) were used to predict the [Formula: see text] by support vector regression (SVR). Afterward, the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method was used to explain their results. SVR was able to predict the CF, and the SHAP method showed that the inputs related to hemodynamic and anthropometric domains were the most important ones to predict the CF. Therefore, we conclude that the cardiovascular fitness can be predicted by wearable technologies associated with machine learning during unsupervised activities of daily living.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Activities of Daily Living*
  • Cardiovascular System*
  • Humans
  • Machine Learning
  • Oxygen
  • Oxygen Consumption

Substances

  • Oxygen

Grants and funding

The research was supported by Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel grants (CAPES) 001 and (CAPES) 88887.362954/2019-00 awarded to MOG. This work was also supported by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) grant FAPESP 2016/22215-7 awarded to AMC, FAPESP 2017/09639-5 and FAPESP 2018/19016-8 awarded to TB; FAPESP 2018/22818-9 awarded to MCMF; and FAPESP 2019/16253-1 awarded to AP. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.