To analyze the developmental trajectories of illness perception in patients with diabetic ketoacidosis(DKA) and to analyze the influencing factors.

A total of 197 hospitalized patients with DKA admitted to our hospital were selected as the study subjects by a convenience sampling method from February 2022 to December 2023.Surveys were conducted at admission,and at 1 month,3 months,and 6 months after admission using a general information questionnaire,the Summary Diabetes Self-Care Activities,the 10-Item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale,the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire,and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.Latent class growth modeling was used to identify the classification of the developmental trajectories of illness perception in patients with DKA.Logistic regression analysis was employed to explore influencing factors.

Illness perception scores of patients with DKA at admission and at 1 month,3 months,and 6 months after admission were 45.78±12.35,40.18±9.27,36.87±7.51,and 36.33±7.44,respectively.Latent class growth modeling identified three distinct developmental trajectories of illness perception in patients with DKA,namely a significant decline group(45 patients,accounting for 22.8%),a decline followed by increase group(90 patients,accounting for 45.7%),and a slow decline group(62 patients,accounting for 31.5%).Logistic regression analysis results showed that educational level,average monthly income,disease severity of DKA,anxiety,depression,diabetes self-management behaviors,and psychological resilience were all influencing factors for the classification of the developmental trajectories of illness perception in patients with DKA(all P<0.05).

The developmental trajectories of illness perception in patients with DKA exhibit group heterogeneity.Healthcare providers should develop targeted intervention strategies based on the influencing factors associated with different classification of the developmental trajectories to improve the illness perception of patients.