Posttraumatic growth in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors: prevalence and associated factors

Abstract

Aims

While traumatic experiences can be distressing, they may also foster psychological growth, a phenomenon known as post-traumatic growth (PTG). The aims were to determine 1) the prevalence of PTG, and 2) the influence of survivor characteristics during hospitalization on levels of PTG at follow-up in a Danish cohort of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors.

Methods

A multicenter prospective cohort study including OHCA survivors, exploring soci-odemographic, clinical, and psychosocial characteristics using the Montreal Cognitive Assess-ment (MoCA), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and the Crisis Support Scale (CSS) during hospitalization. At three-month follow-up, structured interviews were conducted to assess PTG at personal, relational, and institutional levels. The influence of survivor characteristics on PTG was explored using Pearson’s chi-square tests.

Results

Overall, 173 survivors were included. At follow-up, 87% of survivors reported hav-ing one or more levels of PTG. The analysis revealed that the absence of cognitive impairment (MoCA ≥ 26 vs. MoCA < 26) was associated with personal growth (p = 0.02), being younger (<58 years vs. ≥ 58 years) with relational growth (p = 0.03) and being female or having symp-toms of depression (HADS ≥ 8 vs. HADS < 8), with institutional growth (p = 0.02 and p = 0.04), respectively.

Conclusion

The OHCA survivors reported high levels of PTG at three-month follow-up. The type of PTG level was influenced by the absence of cognitive impairment, younger age, fe-male sex, and symptoms of depression during hospitalisation. Social support, symptoms of anxiety, and traumatic distress did not significantly influence the level of PTG.