Latent profile analysis for quality of life in older patients

Quality of life (QOL) is a complex concept known for being influenced by socio-demographic characteristics, individual needs, perceptions and expectations. The study investigates influences of such heterogeneous variables and aims to identify and describe subgroups of older patients who share similar response patterns for the four domains (physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environment) of World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument, Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF).

The sample used included older Romanian patients (N = 60; equal numbers of men and women; mean age was 71.95, SD = 5.98). Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was conducted to explore quality of life profiles with the four WHOQOL-BREF domains as input variables. Differences between profiles were analysed by MANOVA and ANOVAs as a follow-up.

The LPA results showed that the three-profile model was the most suitable and supported the existence of three distinct QOL profiles: low and very low (28.3%), moderate (63.3%) and high (8.4%). The relative entropy value was high (0.86), results pointed to a good profile solution and the three profiles differed significantly from one another.

Our results reveal heterogeneity within the older adult sample and provide meaningful information to better tailor QOL improvement programs to the needs of older patient groups, especially those designed for patients of profiles related to poorer QOL in different domains.