Health-Related Quality of Life Trajectories Among Older Adults With Diabetes Mellitus: A Group-Based Modeling Approach.

Background: Health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) is an important issue among older adults with diabetes mellitus. However, information on longitudinal changes in HR-QoL over time using the illness trajectory model is limited.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of temporal change in HR-QoL and their predictors using longitudinal data and a group-based modeling approach.

Methods: European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions data for 440 older adults with diabetes mellitus were drawn from the nationwide Korea Health Panel Survey conducted from 2009 to 2013. Latent class growth analysis and multinomial logistic regression models were used to identify the predictors of HR-QoL trajectories.

Results: Four distinct classes of HR-QoL trajectory were identified: high decrease (n = 46, 10.5%), high stable (n = 232, 52.7%), medium stable (n = 157, 35.7%), and low increase (n = 5, 1.1%). Participants in ``high decrease" and ``high-stable" classes tended to be men who were highly educated, physically active, and adherent to their medication regimen. High economic status, few chronic diseases, independence in activities of daily living, and high self-rated health status were also identified as indicators of being in the ``high-decrease" and ``high-stable" class group.

Conclusions/implications for practice: A salient finding of this study is that HR-QoL trajectories in older adults with diabetes mellitus are not homogeneous but instead diverge into four distinct classes. Most participants showed no major changes in HR-QoL across the 5-year period, regardless of HR-QoL level. To prevent patients with diabetes from experiencing chronically low levels of HR-QoL, comprehensive assessment and individualized care based on HR-QoL are necessary.