The sensitivity of Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to data distribution: a comprehensive simulation analysis

Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) has emerged as a powerful tool to detect negative health effects from exposure to complex multi-pollutant mixtures. However, its performance is degraded when data deviate from normality. In this comprehensive simulation analysis, we show that BKMR’s power and test size vary under different distributions and correlation matrix structures. Our results demonstrate specifically that BKMR’s robustness is influenced by the response’s coefficient of variation (CV), resulting in reduced accuracy to detect true effects when data are skewed. Test sizes become uncontrolled (>0.05) as CV values increase, leading to inflated false detection rates. However, we find that BKMR effectively utilizes off-diagonal correlation information corresponding to predictor interdependencies, increasing statistical power and accuracy. To achieve reliable and accurate results, we advocate for scrutiny of data skewness and correlation before applying BKMR, particularly when used to predict cognitive decline from blood/urine heavy metal concentrations in environmental health contexts.