Introduction: Lifestyle factors play a critical role in determining the health and quality of life of older adults, particularly in relation to dementia risk and subjective well-being. Behaviors such as physical inactivity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and chronic stress have been widely recognized as major contributors to cognitive decline and poor perceived health. Understanding distinct lifestyle patterns among older adults and their associations with health outcomes is essential for developing targeted interventions aimed at health promotion and dementia prevention.
Objectives: This study aims to identify latent lifestyle groups among older adults using data from the Korea Health Panel and to examine their associations with dementia risk and subjective health. By classifying distinct lifestyle patterns and analyzing their health implications, this research seeks to provide empirical evidence to inform health promotion strategies and dementia prevention initiatives.
Methods: This study utilized data from the Korea Health Panel Survey, focusingon 3,724 older adults aged 65–84. The variables included physical activity,chronic diseases, smoking, alcohol consumption, stress, BMI, and subjectivehealth status. Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to identify distinctlifestyle groups based on these variables.
Results: The analysis identified four distinct latent lifestyle classes: stablelifestyle, balanced lifestyle, vulnerable lifestyle, and risk-seeking lifestyle.Significant differences were observed among these classes based onsociodemographic factors and lifestyle-related variables.
Conclusion: These findings highlight the need for tailored interventionstargeting specific lifestyle patterns to improve subjective health and preventdementia in older adults. By addressing vulnerable and risk-seeking lifestylegroups, this study provides valuable insights for promoting healthy aging in theKorean elderly population.