Mikhail Ivanchenko

Alena Kalyakulina, Igor Yusipov, Alexey Moskalev et al.

eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) is a rapidly progressing field of machine learning, aiming to unravel the predictions of complex models. XAI is especially required in sensitive applications, e.g. in health care, when diagnosis, recommendations and treatment choices might rely on the decisions made by artificial intelligence systems. AI approaches have become widely used in aging research as well, in particular, in developing biological clock models and identifying biomarkers of aging and age-related diseases. However, the potential of XAI here awaits to be fully appreciated. We discuss the application of XAI for developing the "aging clocks" and present a comprehensive analysis of the literature categorized by the focus on particular physiological systems.

Olga Vershinina, Jacopo Sabbatinelli, Anna Rita Bonfigli et al.

Objective. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a highly prevalent non-communicable chronic disease that substantially reduces life expectancy. Accurate estimation of all-cause mortality risk in T2DM patients is crucial for personalizing and optimizing treatment strategies. Research Design and Methods. This study analyzed a cohort of 554 patients (aged 40-87 years) with diagnosed T2DM over a maximum follow-up period of 16.8 years, during which 202 patients (36%) died. Key survival-associated features were identified, and multiple machine learning (ML) models were trained and validated to predict all-cause mortality risk. To improve model interpretability, Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) was applied to the best-performing model. Results. The extra survival trees (EST) model, incorporating ten key features, demonstrated the best predictive performance. The model achieved a C-statistic of 0.776, with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values of 0.86, 0.80, 0.841, and 0.826 for 5-, 10-, 15-, and 16.8-year all-cause mortality predictions, respectively. The SHAP approach was employed to interpret the model's individual decision-making processes. Conclusions. The developed model exhibited strong predictive performance for mortality risk assessment. Its clinically interpretable outputs enable potential bedside application, improving the identification of high-risk patients and supporting timely treatment optimization.