Patterns of Psychological Distress of Chinese Elderly Cancer Patients: A Latent Profile Analysis

To identify the group patterns of psychological distress and its predictors among Chinese elderly cancer patients. To examine the effect of profile on patients' Quality of Life (QOL).

This was a cross-sectional study conducted in accordance with the STROBE guidelines.

This study included 357 patients with cancer aged ≥ 60 years. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to analyse psychological distress collected using the Patient-reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Anxiety Short Form 8a and Depression Short Form 8a. Univariate analysis and univariate multinormal logistic regression were used to examine the correlates of latent membership. Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to assess profile differences in self-reported QOL.

The best fit was a three-profile solution: low psychological distress (34.7%), moderate psychological distress (35.6%) and high psychological distress (29.7%). Patients in the moderate psychological profile were more likely to be female, have religious relief, not be in marriage, have financial burden, and be under treatment; they were less likely to be diagnosed with gynaecological cancer and breast cancer. Patients in the high psychological profile were more likely to be older, female, have a high school or above educational background, have religious relief, live in the country, be retired, have no knowledge about the disease, be unaware of tumour metastasis, have no tumour metastasis, be under treatment, and have complications; they were less likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and gynaecological cancer. Different psychological distress profiles were associated with QOL, with the low distress group reporting significantly higher QOL.

Chinese elderly cancer patients who met the inclusion criteria completed the questionnaires.