Best method of visualizing multiple comorbidities

FlowingData Forums » Data Visualization

Best method of visualizing multiple comorbidities

Started 3 years ago by JulianF / 4 posts

JulianF
Member
Posted 3 years ago #

Hi All,
I would like to do a graphic that would represent the number/percentage of patients with multiple comorbidities (diseases): e.g. patients who have diabetes and heart disease; or diabetes, asthma and heart disease. A patient can have up to 6 co-morbidities.

I looked at something like Venn diagrams - where the intersection of 2 circles represents those patients with 2 diseases, and where 3 circles intersect are those with 3 diseases...but after 3 it gets a bit tricky, and the graphic somewhat ugly.

My other option is a simple bar chart, but wondering if there are any creative options out there.

TIA and Cheers,
Julian F
Australia
nathany
FlowingData Editor
Posted 3 years ago #

hey julian, there was actually a whole bunch of discussion around something like this a while back on all the stat blogs, so you might be in luck :)

here's a summary of the "venn diagram challenge":

http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~cook/movabletype/archives/2007/10/venn_diagram_ch.html

and a little more:

http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~cook/movabletype/archives/2007/10/venn_diagram_ch_1.html

here's the post that started it all:

http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~cook/movabletype/archives/2007/09/redoing_venn_di.html
Darin
Member
Posted 3 years ago #

JulianF, are you using this visualization to tell a story? explore? display causality?

You say that they can have up to 6 comorbidites (poor souls). I have a suggestion...

a******
ab*****
abc****
abcd***
abcde**
abcdef*
abcdefg

because you have set of 6 with the possible combinations (7 if you count no comorbidities, but I don't think that is where you are headed with this), there will be overlapping i.e. 6 with 2 and 3 (OR 2 with 6 and 3)

Here's the hopefully elegant part of my suggestion. Let column a be 'diabetes', use very small color coded boxes to highlight a unit, make a line within the bar to segment and create a 1st part of column 'a' which will be just 'a'. Pick a 2nd comordities say b = 'heart disease' mark boxes by color that are similar to column b, continue ab, ac, ad, ae, af, ag as the set of all a with one other comorbidities. If each is one unit and a marker segments column a after a+1 other, then you have an area that highlights diabetes plus one other. Additionally, looking with in this area gives you a quick visual glance of what diabetes hangs out with. Repeat this process on up for a with 2, awith 3 up to 6.
Do the same for b, but remove ba (the * at the top).

There is a name for this kind of graph. I've seen it like twice, both times it was interactive and... beautiful. I don't know where I saw them or what software they used or the name of this kind of segmented bar graph.

The graph could additionally modified where the x-axis is number of comorbidites, so column a would be 1 comorbidity with 6 segments and g column being the 6 comorbid. I have a gut feeling this turn ugly, but just a feeling...

Just an idea

Darin
nathany
FlowingData Editor
Posted 3 years ago #

hey darin, thanks for sharing. admittedly i got a little lost on the elegant part of your suggestion. if only we had a visual...