Table 1.

Predictors ranked (variable importance) using random forest method based on sums of square error (SSE) in the training set.

Variables ranked	Relative importance
Overall progression (general model)
Complete intestinal metaplasia at baseline	1
Diagnosis at baseline less advanced than atrophic gastritis	0.80368
Incomplete intestinal metaplasia at baseline	0.64445
Depth of corpus inflammation at baseline	0.43734
Alcohol intake at baseline (yes/no)	0.39928
Total loss of glandular tissue at 5 months	0.30324
Received anti-H. pylori treatment	0.28874
Average density of polymorphonuclear cells in the antrum at baseline	0.26655
Body mass index	0.26324
Education level at baseline	0.25006
Average density of polymorphonuclear cells in the corpus at baseline	0.22872
Years of intake of proton pump inhibitors at baseline	0.22002
Total depth of inflammation at baseline	0.20417
Overall progression (location-specific model)
Complete intestinal metaplasia at baseline	1
Diagnosis at baseline less advanced than atrophic gastritis	0.72046
Incomplete intestinal metaplasia at baseline	0.63149
Urinary calcium at baseline	0.43548
Total loss of glandular tissue at 5 months	0.41663
Depth of corpus inflammation at baseline	0.40250
Depth of total inflammation from antrum/corpus at baseline	0.34093
Bloating at baseline	0.31531
Average density of polymorphonuclear cells in the corpus at baseline	0.31494
Intake of coffee with milk at baseline	0.2875
Total mucus depletion at baseline	0.2635
Alcohol intake at baseline	0.25981
Years of use of proton pump inhibitors	0.25814
Intake of fried fava beans at baseline	0.21631
Use of analgesics at baseline	0.21515
Depth of total inflammation from antrum/corpus at 5 months	0.18031
Antacid use at baseline	0.17009
Density of H. pylori infection in the corpus and the antrum at baseline	0.16174
Any reflux at baseline	0.15910
Intake of fruits and vegetables at baseline	0.10299