When depression doesn't budge with therapy or medication, doctors sometimes turn to electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT. It sounds intimidating, but a fresh look at the research brings good news: ECT can help people of every age, and older adults may see the most improvement.
Researchers pooled results from 15 studies covering 1,617 patients with major depressive disorder. Across all ages, ECT reduced scores on two standard depression scales, the Hamilton and the Montgomery-Åsberg. It also lowered anxiety scores and improved scores on a thinking and memory test.
But the standout finding: patients over 60 showed significantly more improvement on the depression scales than younger groups. They also did better on one memory test, recognition memory. That's a hopeful sign for older adults, who often worry about memory effects from ECT.
One caution: the memory test results were mixed. While some memory scores improved, other subscales showed no statistical significance. And the analysis notes that the older-age benefit is a trend, not a hard rule. Still, for anyone weighing ECT, this analysis suggests it's a reasonable option across the lifespan, with older patients potentially gaining the most.
