Is There a Role of Gender in Electroconvulsive Therapy Response?

Objective: Gender difference is a significant determinant of treatment response. As in pharmacological agents, knowledge about this difference is also important for electroconvulsive therapy as an effective treatment modality. The current study aimed to examine the gender differences in terms of indications for electroconvulsive therapy, responses to treatment, and side effects that occur during its application.

Methods: The hospital records of 176 adult patients (39 females and 137 males) having undergone bilateral temporal electroconvulsive therapy under anesthesia between 2007 and 2012 were examined retrospectively.

Results: The mean age of women was higher than that of men, and the duration of hospitalization was longer in men. There was a significant difference between the genders in terms of the indications of electroconvulsive therapy. Major depression as a diagnosis and suicidal thoughts as an indication were more common in women, while catatonia was more common in men. The most frequent side effects were cardiovascular side effects and allergic reactions. No significant difference was determined in the response rates of the patients to electroconvulsive therapy according to their diagnosis and genders.

Conclusion: Our results once again demonstrated that electroconvulsive therapy is a highly effective treatment in both genders. Some gender differences exist in terms of indication and diagnosis, although there was no difference in terms of response to electroconvulsive therapy. There is a need for prospective studies to identify the reasons for these differences.