Lower Perceived Social Support During Hospitalization by Close Family Members may have Significant Associations with Psychological Distress 1 Month After Cardiac Arrest

Background: The perception of having poor social support is associated with worse symptoms of psychological distress in close family members of critically ill patients, yet this has never been tested after cardiac arrest.

Methods: Close family members of consecutive patients with cardiac arrest hospitalized at an academic tertiary care center participated in a prospective study. The validated Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) cued to index hospitalization was administered before discharge. Multivariate linear regressions estimated the associations between the total MSPSS score and total scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD-2), and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), assessed 1 month after cardiac arrest.

Results: In 102 participants (mean age 52 ± 15 years, 70% female, 21% Black, 33% Hispanic) with complete data, the prevalence of depression, generalized anxiety, and probable posttraumatic stress disorder at a median duration of 28.5 days (interquartile range 10-63 days) from cardiac arrest was 61%, 34%, and 13%, respectively. A lower MSPSS score was significantly associated with higher PHQ-8 scores (β = - 0.11 [95% confidence interval - 0.04 to - 0.18]; p < 0.01), even after adjusting for family members' age, sex, prior psychiatric condition, and witnessing of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and patient's discharge disposition (β = - 0.11 [95% confidence interval - 0.02 to - 0.15]; p < 0.01). Similarly, significant inverse associations of total MSPSS scores were seen with 1-month GAD-2 and PCL-5 scores.

Conclusions: Poor social support during hospitalization, as perceived by close family members of cardiac arrest survivors, is associated with worse depressive symptoms at 1 month. Temporal changes in social networks and psychological distress warrant further investigation.