ArticleNursing research
Latent Class Analysis of Symptom Burden Among Seriously Ill Adults at the End of Life.
Article in Nursing research. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- A comparison of conceptual frameworks to examine health inequities in End-of-Life care.Journal of advanced nursing · 2023Pooled it
- Improving Community-Based Palliative Care Explanations: Insights From Persons Declining Services.The American journal of hospice & palliative care · 2026Article
- A Multidimensional Narrative Review of Disparities in Hospice Care Use.The American journal of hospice & palliative care · 2026Article
- Exploring the Relationship Between Palliative Care Knowledge, Health Concerns, and Education Among Seriously Ill Older Adults and Their Family Caregivers Using Survey and Interview Data: A Novel Approach.The American journal of hospice & palliative care · 2026Article
- Why Is Community-Based Palliative Care Declined? Older Adult, Caregiver, and Provider Perspectives.Journal of palliative medicine · 2026Article
- Making Community-Based Palliative Care Eligibility Determinations: Palliative Care Team Member Perspectives on Access to Information and Algorithm Use.The American journal of hospice & palliative care · 2025Article
- A Qualitative Scoping Review of Massage and Massage Therapy on the Mental Health and Well-being of Individuals Living with a Serious and Potentially Life-limiting Physical Illness.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2025Article
- Prevalence of unpaid caregiving, pain, and depression in older seriously ill patients undergoing elective surgery.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2023Article
- Palliative care phenotypes among critically ill patients and family members: intensive care unit prospective cohort study.BMJ supportive & palliative care · 2022Article
- Descriptions of advanced multimorbidity: A scoping review with content analysis.Journal of multimorbidity and comorbidityReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSerious illness is characterized by high symptom burden that negatively affects quality of life (QOL). Although palliative care research has highlighted symptom burden in seriously ill adults with cancer, symptom burden among those with noncancer serious illness and multiple chronic conditions has been understudied. Latent class analysis is a statistical method that can be used to better understand the relationship between severity of symptom burden and covariates, such as the presence of multiple chronic conditions. Although latent class analysis has been used to highlight subgroups of seriously ill adults with cancer based on symptom clusters, none have incorporated multiple chronic conditions.
objectivesThe objectives of this study were to (a) describe the demographic and baseline characteristics of seriously ill adults at the end of life in a palliative care cohort, (b) identify latent subgroups of seriously ill individuals based on severity of symptom burden, and (c) examine variables associated with latent subgroup membership, such as QOL, functional status, and the presence of multiple chronic conditions.
methodsA secondary data analysis of a palliative care clinical trial was conducted. The latent class analysis was based on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, which measures nine symptoms on a scale of 0-10 (e.g., pain, fatigue, nausea, depression, anxiousness, drowsiness, appetite, well-being, and shortness of breath). Clinically significant cut-points for symptom severity were used to categorize each symptom item in addition to a categorized total score.
resultsThree latent subgroups were identified (e.g., low, moderate, and high symptom burden). Lower overall QOL was associated with membership in the moderate and high symptom burden subgroups. Multiple chronic conditions were associated with statistically significant membership in the high symptom burden latent subgroup. Older adults between 65 and 74 years had a lower likelihood of moderate or high symptom burden subgroup membership compared to the low symptom burden class. DISCUSSION: Lower QOL was associated with high symptom burden. Multiple chronic conditions were associated with high symptom burden, which underlines the clinical complexity of serious illness. Palliative care at the end of life for seriously ill adults with high symptom burden must account for the presence of multiple chronic conditions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.