Latent profile analysis of breathlessness catastrophizing in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

This study aimed to examine the latent profile characteristics of breathlessness catastrophizing (BC) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and explore the influencing factors across these different groups.

A cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling, involved 518 COPD patients who visited the pulmonary and critical care medicine departments of four tertiary hospitals, was conducted in Suzhou, China from January 2024 to May 2025. A general information questionnaire, the modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale, Breathlessness Beliefs Questionnaire, the revised COPD Anxiety Questionnaire, COPD Self-Efficacy Scale, 13-Beck Depression Inventory, Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3, and Breathlessness Catastrophizing Scale were employed for data collection. Latent profile analysis was performed using Mplus 8.3, while descriptive, univariate, and multivariate logistic regression analysis were conducted with SPSS 27.0.

Three latent profiles of breathlessness catastrophizing were identified: the "low BC group" (n = 123, 23.75%), "medium BC group" (n = 204, 39.38%), and "high BC group" (n = 191, 36.87%). Fifteen characteristics were associated with the profiles' membership: BMI, annual household income, financial burden, occupation status, smoking status, impressive experience of dyspnea, stable stage or not, pulmonary function, co-pain, disease duration, anxiety sensitivity, depression, anxiety, COPD self-efficacy and breathlessness beliefs.

There are obvious characteristic profiles on breathlessness catastrophizing in COPD patients. Tailored interventions based on the distribution of different profiles should be developed to mitigate the negative effects of breathlessness catastrophizing in COPD patients.