• Marte Ørbo, Per M Aslaksen, Kristina Larsby, Christoph Schäfer, Pål M Tande, Torgil R Vangberg, and Audny Anke.
• Department of Rehabilitation, Division of Rehabilitation Services, University hospital of North Norway, 9038 Tromsø, Norway. marte.orbo@unn.no, marte.orbo@hotmail.com.
• J Rehabil Med. 2015 Oct 5; 47 (9): 860-6.

ObjectiveFor 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.MethodsThe 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.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionThe 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.

28 keywords...

hide…