Acute cardiac care & resuscitationCross-sectional study
Quality of life after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: age matters
- nationwide, survey-based study
Authors' conclusion
HRQoL after OHCA differed across age groups. Older survivors reported more physical limitations, whereas younger survivors reported more anxiety. These findings support age-tailored and domain-specific follow-up after cardiac arrest.
Study context
- Population
- Adult survivors of OHCA in Denmark (2001–2019)out of 4545 survivors (56.1%) completed the survey
- Participants
- 2,552 survivors
- Exposure
- Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) across age groups
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
EQ-5D mobility problems
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | <35 years | ≥75 years |
|---|---|---|
| EQ-5D limitations in usual activities | Not reported in the abstract | 55% |
| SF-12 physical scores | 47.4 (SD 10.2) | 37.7 (SD 12.0) |
| HADS anxiety scores | 5.4 (SD 4.3) | 3.3 (SD 3.2) |
- EQ-5D limitations in usual activities: p for trend <0.01
EQ-5D self-care problems
- Self-care problems increased
- from 9% to 23%
- p for trend <0.01
EQ-5D pain/discomfort
- Did not vary with age
- p for trend = 0.25
EQ-5D anxiety/depression problems
- More common in younger respondents and decreased with age
- p for trend <0.01
SF-12 mental component scores
- Stable across age
- mean 52.9 [SD 8.3]
Follow-up and age
years
- Median follow-up
- 5.5 (IQR 2.9-8.9 years)
- Median age at follow-up
- 67 (IQR 58-74)
Original publication
Quality of life after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: age matters. Resuscitation. Published 12 April 2026. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2026.111092
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it