Electroconvulsive therapy, which involves inducing seizures with an electric current, has been shown to reduce suicide and all-cause mortality in patients with depression. Therefore, ECT may be an effective treatment for those patients who do not respond to antidepressants and psychotherapy. Research published in the journal Neuroscience Applied.
Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 26 studies that examined the effects of electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and vagus nerve stimulation on depression. They compared the number and incidence of suicide and all-cause mortality in patients treated with these methods or with standard depression treatment protocols, which included antidepressants and psychotherapy.
It turned out that 1,7 percent of patients in the ECT group committed suicide, compared with more than five percent in the control group. Three percent of patients in the ECT group died from all causes, compared with 6,6 percent in the control group. After accounting for other factors, the risk of suicide in patients treated with ECT was more than a third lower than in the control group. The risk of death from all causes in such patients was 30 percent lower.
Magnetic stimulation treatment was not associated with a reduced risk of suicide or death from all causes. Vagus nerve stimulation, however, was associated with a 60 percent lower risk of death from all causes, but not suicide. This may be because the vagus nerve affects the health of many internal organs, including the gut, reducing the risk of death from common diseases. However, the effect of ECT on suicide risk suggests that it is a safe and effective treatment for depression when used under medical supervision.
