Out on PubMed recently is this epidemiological study of ECT use from researchers at the Mass General:
Demographics of Patients Receiving Electroconvulsive Therapy Based on State-Mandated Reporting Data.
Objectives: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment of
depression and other psychiatric conditions. There are few comprehensive
data on how many patients receive ECT in the United States or about the
demographics of ECT recipients. This study characterizes the demographics
of those receiving ECT and how these demographics may have
changed with time.
Methods: Freedom of information requests for all data from record keeping
inception to January 2019 were sent to the Department of Health or
equivalent agency of states that mandate reporting of ECT. Information
on demographics and the number of treating facilities was extracted.
Results: Data on 62,602 patients receiving treatment in 3 states (California,
Illinois, Vermont) were obtained. Overall, 62.3% were women. Fewer than
1% of patients treated were younger than 18 years, whereas 30.3% were
65 years or older. White patients received a disproportionate proportion of
treatments, with all other races underrepresented. The total number of facilities
offering ECT in the 3 states declined over the study period.
Conclusions: Recipients of ECT are more likely to be female, more
likely to be elderly, and more likely to be white than the average person
in their state.
Demographics of Patients Receiving Electroconvulsive Therapy Based on State-Mandated Reporting Data.
J ECT. 2020 May 22. doi: 10.1097/YCT.0000000000000692. Online ahead of print.PMID: 32453188
The abstract is at the above link, and copied here:Objectives: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment of
depression and other psychiatric conditions. There are few comprehensive
data on how many patients receive ECT in the United States or about the
demographics of ECT recipients. This study characterizes the demographics
of those receiving ECT and how these demographics may have
changed with time.
Methods: Freedom of information requests for all data from record keeping
inception to January 2019 were sent to the Department of Health or
equivalent agency of states that mandate reporting of ECT. Information
on demographics and the number of treating facilities was extracted.
Results: Data on 62,602 patients receiving treatment in 3 states (California,
Illinois, Vermont) were obtained. Overall, 62.3% were women. Fewer than
1% of patients treated were younger than 18 years, whereas 30.3% were
65 years or older. White patients received a disproportionate proportion of
treatments, with all other races underrepresented. The total number of facilities
offering ECT in the 3 states declined over the study period.
Conclusions: Recipients of ECT are more likely to be female, more
likely to be elderly, and more likely to be white than the average person
in their state.
While European countries have excellent national registers to rely upon for data (see blog post of 5/29/2020), we in the United States have no such national database of ECT or ECT patients.
Dr. Luccarelli and colleagues are to be commended for having put together a carefully constructed report, and some data are better than no data, but this dataset is a hodgepodge of some years' data from 3 states. Nonetheless, the results are informative, confirming previously reported demographic trends and the declining number of hospitals offering ECT. Conclusions about the overall use of ECT in the USA cannot, however, be drawn from the data as collected.
Dr. Luccarelli and colleagues are to be commended for having put together a carefully constructed report, and some data are better than no data, but this dataset is a hodgepodge of some years' data from 3 states. Nonetheless, the results are informative, confirming previously reported demographic trends and the declining number of hospitals offering ECT. Conclusions about the overall use of ECT in the USA cannot, however, be drawn from the data as collected.
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