        |
Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Second Opinion
Note: The information on this
website is not a substitute for
diagnosis and treatment by a qualified, licensed professional.
Does shock therapy save lives by preventing suicide, as its proponents claim? There no science to back up that claim.
o A study conducted in 1976 found no difference in suicide rates among 519 patients receiving shock therapy, antidepressant medication, or neither shock therapy nor antidepressant medication.
Avery D, Winokur G. Mortality in depressed patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy and antidepressants. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1976 Sep;33(9):1029-37
o A year 2000 study compared 89 people with severe depression who committed suicide to a group of 89 similar, severely depressed people who did not commit suicide. The study found no suicide preventive effect for shock therapy. Rather, the study revealed that patients who did not receive continuing drug therapy after shock were far more likely to commit suicide than those who did.
Treatment and suicide in severe depression: a case-control study of antidepressant therapy at last contact before suicide. Bradvik L, Berglund M. J ECT 2000 Dec;16(4):399-408
Little, if any, evidence supports a long-term positive effect of ECT on suicide rates, especially if diagnostically heterogeneous groups are considered.
Electroconvulsive therapy and suicide risk. Prudic J, Sackeim HA. J Clin Psychiatry 1999;60 Suppl 2:104-10; discussion 111-6
o "Patients who committed suicide were more apt to have received ECT than those who died from other causes, but this difference was not significant. A control group of living patients matched for age, sex, and diagnosis had very similar exposures to ECT. which further indicates that ECT does not influence long-term survival. These findings combined with a close examination of the literature do not support the commonly held belief that ECT exerts long-range protective effects against suicide."
Does Electroconvulsive Therapy Prevent Suicide? Victor Milstein, Ph.D., Joyce G. Small, M.D., Iver F. Small, M.D., and Grace E. Green, B.A. Convulsive Therapy 2(1):3-6, 1986
A study of 1076 Iowans with major affective disorders found that mortality does not differ between patients having a lifetime history of ECT and patients never having had ECT. Mode of therapy received in the hospital has minimal influence on subsequent mortality, including suicide.
Does Treatment Influence Mortality in Depressives? A Follow-up of 1076 Patients with Major Affective Disorders. Donald W. Black, M.D., M.S.; George Winokur, M.D.; Emmanuel Mohandoss, M.S.; Robert F. Woolson, Ph.D.; and Amelia Nasrallah, M.A. Ann Clin Psych 1989;1:165-173
"There is little or nothing in the literature to suggest that ECT ameliorates suicide, whereas a significant body of literature confirms that it does not…. As they attempt to recover from ECT, patients frequently find that their prior emotional problems have now been complicated by ECT-induced brain damage and dysfunction that will not go away. If their doctors tell them that ECT never causes any permanent difficulties, they become further confused and isolated, creating conditions for suicide."
Electroshock: scientific, ethical, and political issues. Peter R. Breggin. International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine 11 (1998) 5-40 IOS Press.
o "In the large NY study cited earlier, the death rates from suicide among depressed patients given ECT were slightly higher at the 1 year mark. By 5 years the suicide rate was the same for depressed patients who got ECT as those who didn't."
Appendix to John Breeding, Ph.D. Electroshock. Based on an article published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Winter 2000, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 65-79, citing Babigian, H., et al. Epidemiologic considerations in ECT. Arch Gen Psych 1984;41:246-253.
o "In a University of Iowa study of treatment effectiveness, 1,076 depressed patients were categorized according to whether they received ECT, or high doses of anti-depressant medications, or low doses of anti-depressant medications, or neither (ECT nor meds). Long term follow up revealed that all groups had the same suicide rates, indicating that the incidence of suicide is not affected by treatment. The authors conclude: 'Therefore, active biological treatments, such as ECT, may not be deemed as 'lifesaving' now as in the past.'"
Appendix to John Breeding, Ph.D. Electroshock. Based on an article published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Winter 2000, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 65-79, citing Black, et al. Does treatment influence mortality in depressives? Ann Clin Psych 1989;1:165-173.
o "The same findings are documented in three other studies: ECT does not prevent suicide in depressed patients."
Appendix to John Breeding, Ph.D. Electroshock. Based on an article published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Winter 2000, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 65-79, citing Eastwood, et al. Seasonal patterns of suicide, depression, and ECT. Br J Psych 1976;129:472-475. Babigian, et al. Epidemiological considerations in ECT. Arch Gen Psych 1984;41:216-253. Milstien, et al. Does ECT prevent suicide? Convulsive Therapy 1986;2:3-6.