All-Cause Mortality Among Recipients of Electroconvulsive Therapy: Register-Based Cohort Study

The risk of mortality was assessed among recipients of electroconvulsive therapy compared with other psychiatric inpatients in Denmark over a 25-year period, 1976-2000. There were 783 deceased inpatients who had received electroconvulsive therapy compared with 5781 who had not. Patients who had received electroconvulsive therapy had a lower overall mortality rate from natural causes but a slightly higher suicide rate, especially within the first 7 days after the last treatment. Further investigation is needed of the observed increased suicide rate immediately following treatment, although this result likely may be due to selection bias. (30 refs.)