Heterogeneity in Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients with Aplastic Anemia: A Latent Profile Analysis

Guibin Wu,1,2,* Xiao Li,1,2,* Xiang Ren,1,2 Jinbo Huang,2,3 Xiaoxiao Zhang,1,2 Taimei Liang,1,2 Lina Sun,1,2 Mengmeng Hao,1,2 Zhexiang Kuang,2,3 Xinli Li,1,2 Qianqian Zhang,2,4 Li Xu,2,4 Yizhou Zheng,1,2 Wenjun Xie2,4 1Diagnostic and Therapeutic Center for Anemic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 2Tianjin Institutes of Health Science, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 3Regenerative Medicine Clinic, State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 4Nursing Department, State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yizhou Zheng, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Center for Anemic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, 288 Nanjing Road, Tianjin, 300020, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected] Wenjun Xie, Nursing Department, State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, 288 Nanjing Road, Tianjin, 300020, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]: Concerns over health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with aplastic anemia (AA) have been increasing worldwide. However, most researches on HRQOL in AA patients have ignored individual-level variability. Thus, our study was designed to explore practical classification of HRQOL and related variables among AA patients.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2022 to March 2023, utilizing convenience sampling to enroll AA patients. Data of HRQOL, sociodemographic characteristics, and clinical variables were collected. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to analyze the latent categories of HRQOL in AA patients, utilizing scores from eight subscales of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey version 2.0.Results: A total of 229 patients completed the survey and were included in the analysis. The LPA results showed significantly individual differences and identified three subgroups of HRQOL: Group 1, poor HRQOL with role emotional limitation (n=54, 23.58%); Group 2, moderate HRQOL with role physical limitation (n=56, 24.45%), and Group 3, good HRQOL (n=119, 51.97%), respectively among AA patients. Childless, no comorbidities, transfusion independence, no AA-related symptoms, and higher annual household income were associated with Group 3, whereas higher Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS) scores were associated with Group 1.Conclusion: The findings of our study revealed significant heterogeneity in HRQOL among AA patients, providing valuable information for tailoring interventions to meet individual needs, especially for those in the poor HRQOL with role emotional limitation group. To improve their quality of life, healthcare professionals should fully take into account how the HRQOL subgroups are affected by AA-related symptoms, household annual income, ECOG-PS score, children, comorbidities, and transfusion-dependence.Keywords: aplastic anemia, health-related quality of life, latent profile analysis, influencing factors