Topic-informed dynamic mixture model for occupational heterogeneity in health risk behaviors

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Schiavon, Lorenzo, Stival, Mattia, Andreella, Angela, Campostrini, Stefano
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Schiavon, Lorenzo
Stival, Mattia
Andreella, Angela
Campostrini, Stefano
author_facet Schiavon, Lorenzo
Stival, Mattia
Andreella, Angela
Campostrini, Stefano
contents Behavioral risk factors, i.e., smoking, poor nutrition, alcohol misuse, and physical inactivity (SNAP), are leading contributors to chronic diseases and healthcare costs worldwide. Their prevalence is shaped %not only by demographic characteristics %but and also by contextual ones such as socioeconomic and occupational environments. In this study, we leverage data from the Italian health and behavioral surveillance system PASSI to model SNAP behaviors through a Bayesian framework that integrates textual information on occupations. We use Structural Topic Modeling (STM) to cluster free-text job descriptions into latent occupational groups, which inform mixture weights in a multivariate ordered probit model. Covariate effects are allowed to vary across occupational clusters and evolve over time. To enhance interpretability and variable selection, we impose non-local spike-and-slab priors on regression coefficients. Finally, an online learning algorithm based on sequential Monte Carlo enables efficient updating as new data become available. This dynamic, scalable, and interpretable approach permits observing how occupational contexts modulate the impact of socio-demographic factors on health behaviors, providing valuable insights for targeted public health interventions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_20408
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Topic-informed dynamic mixture model for occupational heterogeneity in health risk behaviors
Schiavon, Lorenzo
Stival, Mattia
Andreella, Angela
Campostrini, Stefano
Applications
Behavioral risk factors, i.e., smoking, poor nutrition, alcohol misuse, and physical inactivity (SNAP), are leading contributors to chronic diseases and healthcare costs worldwide. Their prevalence is shaped %not only by demographic characteristics %but and also by contextual ones such as socioeconomic and occupational environments. In this study, we leverage data from the Italian health and behavioral surveillance system PASSI to model SNAP behaviors through a Bayesian framework that integrates textual information on occupations. We use Structural Topic Modeling (STM) to cluster free-text job descriptions into latent occupational groups, which inform mixture weights in a multivariate ordered probit model. Covariate effects are allowed to vary across occupational clusters and evolve over time. To enhance interpretability and variable selection, we impose non-local spike-and-slab priors on regression coefficients. Finally, an online learning algorithm based on sequential Monte Carlo enables efficient updating as new data become available. This dynamic, scalable, and interpretable approach permits observing how occupational contexts modulate the impact of socio-demographic factors on health behaviors, providing valuable insights for targeted public health interventions.
title Topic-informed dynamic mixture model for occupational heterogeneity in health risk behaviors
topic Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.20408