In their newly published study, Oka et al1 conducted a retrospective chart review of patients who received acute electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treatment-resistant psychiatric illness. The investigators sought to understand differences in ECT treatment response between “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ)” and “non-LGBTQ” patients. They hypothesized that LGBTQ patients would be more likely to have clinical features thought to be associated with less favorable response to ECT, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorders, personality disorders, and self-injurious behaviors. By extension, they hypothesized that LGBTQ patients may therefore not experience as much clinical improvement from ECT. While the authors reported differences between the two patient samples regarding age, suicidal ideation and attempts, self-injury, PTSD, personality disorders, substance use disorders, and experiencing sexual abuse, they did not observe any differences in clinical responsiveness to ECT.
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