Mortality in Depressed Patients Treated With Electroconvulsive Therapy and Antidepressants

The treatments of 519 depressed patients hospitalized from 1959-69 were compared in a 3-year follow-up study with particular reference to mortality. 8 of 32 deaths were suicides. There was a trend for the suicide rate to be greater with inadequate treatment than with adequate treatment at one year, 0% vs. 1.6%. However, after 3 years suicide mortality was only slightly different between the 2 groups, 1.5% in adequately treated patients vs. 1.6% in patients receiving inadequate treatment.