Symptoms of anxiety and depression after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: an exploratory dyadic analysis of survivors and their cohabiting spouses or partners from the BOX trial

Abstract Aim The objectives were to: i) compare symptoms of anxiety and depression between survivors and cohabiting spouses/partners, and ii) investigate characteristics associated with higher scores of anxiety and depression in both parts, respectively. Methods This observational exploratory substudy used three-month follow-up data from the Blood Pressure and Oxygenation Targets after Cardiac Arrest (BOX)-trial, restricted to cohabiting survivor-partner dyads. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A anxiety, HADS-D depression). Paired comparisons were used to examine differences within the dyad, and multivariable linear regression models applied separately for survivors and spouses/partners to investigate associations between characteristics and symptom burden, reported as β with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Among 321 eligible OHCA survivors, 200 survivor-partner dyads were included. Median HADS-A scores were 4 (IQR 1-7) in survivors and 5 (IQR 1-8) in spouses/partners (p=0.107). Median HADS-D scores were 1 (IQR 0-4) and 1 (IQR 0-3), respectively (p=0.290). In adjusted regression analyses among survivors, higher age was associated with lower scores of HADS-A (β -0.065, 95% CI -0.125;-0.025; p=0.012) and HADS-D (β -0.040, 95% CI -0.090;-0.00; p=0.037). In sensitivity analyses, poorer self-rated health was associated with higher scores of HADS-A and HADS-D in both parts, and poorer survivor self-rated health was associated with higher scores of HADS-D among spouses/partners. Conclusion Symptoms of anxiety and depression did not differ in survivors and their spouse/partners. Higher age was associated with lower scores of anxiety and depression among survivors, and poorer self-rated health with higher symptom-scores in both.