Electroconvulsive Therapy in Veterans Health Administration Hospitals: Prevalence, Patterns of Use, and Patient Characteristics.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The body of large-scale, epidemiological research on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the United States is limited. To address this gap, we assessed demographic, clinical, pharmacological, and mental health treatment history as well as 2-year mortality outcomes associated with ECT use in the largest U.S. health care system.

Methods

Among all patients who sought mental health care at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals in 2012, we used bivariate analyses to compare patients who did and not receive ECT during 2 years of follow-up. Among the population who received ECT, descriptive statistics were calculated to characterize prior mental health treatment patterns and ECT receipt.

Results

0.11% (N = 1616) of all VHA mental health patients in 2012 (N

SUBMITTER: Peltzman T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8805041 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature