Symptom Profiles, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Clinical Blood Markers among Korean Community-Dwelling Older Adults Living with Chronic Conditions

Jongmin Park, Nada Lukkahatai, Nancy Perrin, Yoonju Kim, Leorey N. Saligan and Chang Won Won
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Jongmin Park: College of Nursing, Pusan National University, Gyeongsangnam-do 50612, Korea
Nada Lukkahatai: School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Nancy Perrin: School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Yoonju Kim: Department of Nursing, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea
Leorey N. Saligan: National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Chang Won Won: Elderly Frailty Research Center, Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: Older adults suffer from multiple symptoms, which negatively affects their health-related quality of life. The single-symptom management approach has been less than effective. The data of 2362 Korean community-dwelling older adults aged 70 and above were analyzed in the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS) study. A cluster analysis, correlation analysis, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. We found three symptom clusters: high symptom burden (HSB, n = 1032); pain and fatigue group (PAF, n = 566); and the sleep deprivation group (SDP, n = 764). Participants in the HSB group are more likely to be of old age (OR = 1.1), be female (OR = 2.4), live in a rural area (OR = 1.4), have low physical activity (OR = 0.9), and have multiple chronic conditions (OR = 1.5). The clinical blood markers analysis showed a negative relationship among the physical health, free T4 ( r = ?0.083, p < 0.01) and insulin ( r = ?0.084, p < 0.01). The sex-specific blood markers analysis showed differences among three clusters. While free testosterone (male: r = 0.124, female: r = 0.110, p < 0.05) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) (male: r = 0.352 and female: r = 0.134, p < 0.05) were associated with physical health in the HSB group, only free testosterone was associated with mental health (male: r = ?0.093, and female: r = ?0.116, p < 0.05) in the SDP group. These findings suggest the potential role of the patient’s sex and sex hormones in symptoms of Korean community-dwelling older adults. Understanding the symptom profiles and impact of biopsychosocial factors may enhance precision symptom management.

Keywords: symptom cluster; quality of life; biomarkers; chronic conditions; community-dwelling older adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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