Latent profiles of quality of life and psychological distress in colorectal cancer patients: a cross-sectional study

Purpose This study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to classify colorectal cancer (CRC) patients into distinct profiles of quality of life (QoL) and psychological distress, and to explore the demographic and clinical factors associated with these profiles.Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted from May 2023 to January 2024, recruiting 537 CRC patients from three tertiary grade A hospitals in Zhejiang Province, China. Data were collected using a general information questionnaire, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal (FACIT-CR), and the Distress Thermometer (DT). Latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed using Mplus 8.3 to identify patient profiles, with the optimal model selected based on fit indices. Subsequently, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore associated factors.Results Four profiles emerged: "low QoL-high distress" (25.3%), "moderate QoL-low distress" (22.0%), "moderate QoL-moderate distress" (36.1%), and "high QoL-low distress" (16.6%). Univariate analysis revealed significant differences across the four profiles in gender (p < 0.001), marital status (p < 0.001), residence (p = 0.044), monthly household income (p = 0.020), duration of illness (p < 0.001), cancer stage (p < 0.001), family history of cancer (p < 0.001), and metastasis status (p < 0.001). Multivariate regression confirmed that profile membership was significantly associated with being married, male, earlier cancer stage, lower household income, family history of cancer, and metastasis presence (p < 0.05).Conclusions Significant heterogeneity exists in QoL and distress among CRC patients. These findings suggest that clinicians could consider prioritizing personalized psychological interventions for patients with advanced disease, prolonged illness, or financial difficulties; prospective validation is needed before routine adoption.