Latent classes and symptom network analysis of kinesiophobia in older adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- 1Department of Nursing, The Sixth People's Hospital of Nantong, Nantong, Jiangsu, China.
- 2Department of Pulmonary Oncology, The Sixth People's Hospital of Nantong, Nantong, Jiangsu, China.
- 3Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Sixth People's Hospital of Nantong, Nantong, Jiangsu, China.
Abstract
Objective
To identify the latent classes of kinesiophobia in older adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), analyze the symptom network structure of different classes, determine the core symptoms, and provide evidence for precision pulmonary rehabilitation interventions.Methods
A convenience sample of 546 older adult COPD patients was recruited from the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Nantong Sixth People's Hospital, between March 2025 and April 2026. Participants completed a general information questionnaire, the Breathlessness Beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ), and a COPD symptom survey. Latent profile analysis was used to identify potential classes of kinesiophobia. Symptom networks for each subgroup were constructed using R software, and three centrality indices (strength, closeness, and betweenness) were calculated to determine core symptoms.Results
The prevalence of kinesiophobia in older adult patients with COPD was 88.46%. Latent profile analysis identified two classes: a high-fear-somatic focus group (67.4%) and a lower-fear-activity avoidance group (32.6%). Symptom network analysis revealed that the core symptom was dyspnea (strength = 1.78) in the high-fear group, whereas fatigue (strength = 1.64) was the core symptom in the lower-fear group. The difference in network structure between the two groups was not statistically significant (P > 0.05).Conclusion
Kinesiophobia in older adult patients with COPD exhibits population heterogeneity, with different core symptoms across subgroups. The findings of this study suggest that dyspnea deserves particular attention in the high-fear group, while fatigue deserves particular attention in the lower-fear group. Future longitudinal or interventional studies are needed to further verify the causal relationships between core symptoms and pulmonary rehabilitation participation, thereby informing the development of individualized pulmonary rehabilitation strategies.
Related
- Risk factor analysis and development of a risk prediction model for facial pressure injury associated with noninvasive positive pressure ventilation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease based on symptom science theory
- Association between sexual dysfunction and symptom burden in women with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- Sleep Quality and Daytime Sleepiness in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in a Tertiary Care Hospital: An Observational Study
- Development and validation of an interpretable machine learning model for early prediction of mortality in ICU patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure
- A Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence of Asthma-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overlap in Patients Attending the Pulmonology Outpatient Department at Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Chittoor, India
BibTeX
@article{liang2026latent,
title = {{Latent classes and symptom network analysis of kinesiophobia in older adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.}},
author = {Mengyao Liang and Congying Kang and Li Feng and Jiajia Hua},
journal = {Frontiers in medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2026.1919256},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898520},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Latent classes and symptom network analysis of kinesiophobia in older adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
AU - Mengyao Liang
AU - Congying Kang
AU - Li Feng
AU - Jiajia Hua
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Frontiers in medicine
DO - 10.3389/fmed.2026.1919256
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898520
AB - Objective To identify the latent classes of kinesiophobia in older adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), analyze the symptom network structure of different classes, determine the core symptoms, and provide evidence for precision pulmonary rehabilitation interventions.Methods A convenience sample of 546 older adult COPD patients was recruited from the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Nantong Sixth People's Hospital, between March 2025 and April 2026. Participants completed a general information questionnaire, the Breathlessness Beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ), and a COPD symptom survey. Latent profile analysis was used to identify potential classes of kinesiophobia. Symptom networks for each subgroup were constructed using R software, and three centrality indices (strength, closeness, and betweenness) were calculated to determine core symptoms.Results The prevalence of kinesiophobia in older adult patients with COPD was 88.46%. Latent profile analysis identified two classes: a high-fear-somatic focus group (67.4%) and a lower-fear-activity avoidance group (32.6%). Symptom network analysis revealed that the core symptom was dyspnea (strength = 1.78) in the high-fear group, whereas fatigue (strength = 1.64) was the core symptom in the lower-fear group. The difference in network structure between the two groups was not statistically significant (P > 0.05).Conclusion Kinesiophobia in older adult patients with COPD exhibits population heterogeneity, with different core symptoms across subgroups. The findings of this study suggest that dyspnea deserves particular attention in the high-fear group, while fatigue deserves particular attention in the lower-fear group. Future longitudinal or interventional studies are needed to further verify the causal relationships between core symptoms and pulmonary rehabilitation participation, thereby informing the development of individualized pulmonary rehabilitation strategies.
SN - 2296-858X
ER -