Applying Latent Profile Analysis to Identify Lifestyle Profiles and Their Association with Loneliness and Quality of Life among Community-Dwelling Middle- and Older-Aged Adults in South Korea

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 23; p. 12374
• Main Authors: Park, Kang-Hyun, Yoo, Eun-Young, Kim, Jongbae, Hong, Ickpyo, Lee, Jae-Shin, Park, Ji-Hyuk
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25.11.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Adult; Adults; Aging; Chronic illnesses; Cluster analysis; Demographic variables; Female; Health care; Health promotion; Humans; Independent Living; Life Style; Lifestyles; Likert scale; Loneliness; Maintenance; Male; Mental health; Middle Aged; Nutrition; Older people; Participation; Physical activity; Population; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Society; Sociodemographics; Statistical analysis; Subgroups; Republic of Korea; United States > US; South Korea; health promotion; community-dwelling middle- and older-aged adults; quality of life; latent profile analysis; mental health; multi-faceted lifestyle
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182312374

This study aimed to examine the multi-faceted lifestyle profiles of community-dwelling middle- and older-aged adults based on their physical activity, participation in various activities, and nutrition. It identified the association of lifestyle profiles with demographic variables, quality of life, and mental health. The analysis included 569 participants (mean age = 60.2; SD = 4.3). Latent profile analysis identified three distinctive lifestyle profiles: "inactive and unbalanced" (36.4%), "basic life maintenance" (54.6%), and "active and balanced" (9.1%). Sex ( < 0.001), age ( < 0.001), and regular medication intake ( < 0.01) were statistically significantly different among the three profiles. Of the "inactive and unbalanced" lifestyle group, 63.3% of it was comprised of by females, and a relatively large distribution was aged over 65. In the "basic life maintenance" subgroup, males showed a relatively large distribution, and 92.6% of participants were aged 55-64. People with active and balanced lifestyles demonstrated high quality of life levels ( < 0.001) and low loneliness levels ( < 0.01). Multinomial logistic regression revealed a statistically significant positive association between lifestyle profiles and quality of life ( < 0.001) as well as mental health ( < 0.01). Therefore, health promotion that considers multi-faceted lifestyle factors would need to improve health and quality of life among community-dwelling middle- and older-aged adults in South Korea.