Relevance of cognition to health-related quality of life in good-outcome survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Objective: For survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with good outcomes, it is not known whether and how health-related quality of life is affected by the cognitive impairments frequently observed in these patients. This study explores how neuropsychological tests of memory, exe-cutive and psychomotor functioning relate to the physical and mental aspects of health-related quality of life in functionally independent and community dwelling OHCA survivors discharged early from hospital.

Methods: The study included 42 adult survivors (mean age 62 years, 38 males). Health-related quality of life was measured approximately 3 months post-OHCA with the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 (SF-36). Cognition was measured with established neuropsychological tests. Regression analyses were used to examine associations between neuropsychological domains and physical and mental health-related quality of life, respectively, when controlling for age, education and length of coma.

Results: The physical, but not the mental, component of the SF-36 was significantly worse than Norwegian population data. Neuropsychological tests showed frequent impairments most often in the memory domain. Worse psychomotor functioning was associated with worse physical health-related quality of life, whereas worse memory performance was associated with worse mental health-related quality of life.

Conclusion: The cognitive impairments frequently reported in OHCA survivors with good outcomes may compromise health-related quality of life. Cognitive functioning should be addressed even in survivors with rapid recovery.