To explore the latent profiles of lung transplant recipients′ quality of life, as well as the traits and contributing variables of different quality of life categories.

The study included 300 lung transplant recipients who visited Wuxi People′s Hospital for follow-up outpatient visits between January and December 2022. The lung transplant quality of life survey (LT-QOL) and a general information questionnaire were used in the questionnaire surveys. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to compare groups for continuous data, while the chi-square test or Fisher′s exact probability test was used for comparison between groups for categorical data. The factor scores for every dimension were determined using the lavaan package. The mclust and tidyLPA programs were used to conduct latent profile analysis (LPA). The nnet software was used to perform logistic regression on factors with P<0.10 in univariate analysis. The threshold for statistical significance was set at P<0.05.

A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed, with 5 invalid responses excluded, yielding a valid response rate of 98.3% (295/300). LPA was conducted based on factor scores across the LT-QOL′s 11 domains, the 295 recipients were categorised into high quality of life-quality of life satisfaction group (n=181), moderate quality of life-prominent diarrhoea symptoms group (n=34), moderate quality of life-prominent sexual function issues group (n=40), low quality of life-poor overall perception group (n=40). Univariate analysis revealed statistically significant differences in age, pathoglycemia, and dyslipidaemia among recipients in the above four groups (H/χ²=10.135, 15.599 and 14.527 respectively, all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the age, unplanned readmission frequency, pathoglycemia, and dyslipidaemia were statistically significant factors influencing quality of life categories among lung transplant recipients (all P<0.05).

Quality of life among lung transplant recipients exhibits marked heterogeneity. Nursing staff may develop targeted intervention strategies based on the characteristics of their respective quality of life categories to enhance their quality of life and overall health status.