A survey of 1144 ECT recipients, family members and friends: incidence, severity and duration of memory deficits

Background: Patients and family members are rarely asked about memory deficits following electroconvulsive therapy.

Methods: This paper reports the responses of 858 ECT recipients and 286 family and friends, from 44 countries, to an online survey.

Results: Four measures produced high incidence rates of memory loss resulting from ECT: spontaneous reporting - 84.5%, Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale - 60.8%; a question about anterograde amnesia (ability to retain new information) - 70.3%, and a question about retrograde amnesia (loss of memory for life events) - 80.4%. About half (55%) reported that ECT had made their retrograde memory ‘much worse’, with 42% reporting the same for anterograde memory. For 65% of those experiencing anterograde amnesia, and 81% of those with retrograde amnesia, the deficit lasted three years or more. Family and friends reported slightly lower, but still very high, incidence, severity and duration. All measures of memory deficit were correlated with the number of ECTs received and were worse with bilateral electrode placement compared to unilateral. Most survey respondents (78%) had received bilateral ECT. There was no evidence that memory loss had reduced in recent years, as often suggested.

Limitations: A convenience sample risked sample bias towards those with generally negative, or positive, attitudes towards ECT. The findings are based on self-report.

Conclusions: It is recommended that there should be further research into ECT’s long-term effects of memory of ECT, guarantees of evidence-based information for patients and families, effective monitoring for adverse effects, and, for the many patients who feel damaged by ECT, appropriate assessment and rehabilitation.