Abstract
Background Cardiac arrest (CA) leads to cerebral hypoxia resulting in multifactorial brain injury. Cognitive impairment and a higher degree of depressive symptoms are the most frequently described mental health problems after CA.
The aim of the present study is to characterize psychosocial sequelae of CA. Methods The study population included 113 subjects. 62 patients after CA were matched to 51 healthy controls according to demographic characteristics and premorbid intelligence level.
Cognitive test (MoCA), inventories of depressive (BDI-II) and anxiety symptoms (STAI) and midlife crisis scale (MCS) were administrated to study participants. Results The analysis showed that CA patients have a decreased level of cognitive performance (p = 0.016) and a higher degree of state anxiety symptoms (p = 0.023).
There was no significant difference between CA patients and control subjects in the degree of depressive (p = 0.435) and trait anxiety symptoms (p = 0.542). Ex-post facto analysis based on logistic regression indicated that the strongest predictors of being classified as having had a cardiac arrest was male gender and state anxiety (OR = 4.45 and 0.50).
Discriminant function analysis showed that group prediction was sensitive to age, cognitive performance, and state anxiety (λ = 0.81, p = 0.028). Conclusions Our results show that CA has significant cognitive and neuropsychiatric sequelae.
The integration of psychosocial care and neuropsychiatric treatment into the complex medical care of CA patients seems to be justified