Many patients fulfill criteria for both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is generally acknowledged to be the most-effective treatment for refractory MDD. This study investigated the efficacy of ECT on long-term clinical outcome of comorbid PTSD and MDD.
This retrospective nested matched case-control study is inclusive of 22,164 subjects [3,485 with comorbid MDD and PTSD (92 with ECT and 3,393 without ECT) and 18,679 without MDD and PTSD].
Using the clinical global impression scale (CGI) to assess efficacy, more-robust improvement of PTSD and MDD symptoms was observed with ECT (90%), compared to antidepressant-treatment alone(50%) (P = 0.001). During the median of 8 years of follow-up, the death-rate was 8% in subjects without PTSD and MDD, 9.7% in PTSD and MDD treated with ECT and 18% in PTSD and MDD without ECT (P < 0.05). The suicide-rate was 2.2 and 5.9% in PTSD and MDD with and without ECT-treatment, respectively (P < 0.05). Survival-analyses revealed that the relative-risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality is not significantly different in patients with comorbid MDD and PTSD treated with ECT, compared to a matched-cohort without PTSD and MDD (P > 0.05). The relative risk of suicidality, all-cause, and cardiovascular mortality was reduced 64, 65, and 46% in MDD and PTSD patients treated with ECT, compared to those without ECT (P < 0.05).
ECT is associated with a significant reduction of symptoms of PTSD and MDD, as well as reduction in risk of suicidality, cardiovascular, and all-cause mortality in MDD and PTSD, an effect more robust than antidepressant-therapy alone.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
4
5%
Nursing and Health Professions
4
5%
Other
6
8%
Unknown
26
33%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 20. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 10 November 2024.
All research outputs
#2,329,260
of 34,360,889 outputs
Outputs from Depression & Anxiety (1091-4269)
#339
of 1,859 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#25,631
of 320,335 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Depression & Anxiety (1091-4269)
#3
of 29 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,360,889 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 93rd percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,859 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 25.2. This one has done well, scoring higher than 81% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 320,335 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 91% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 29 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 89% of its contemporaries.
