Changes in Heart Rate Variability of Depressed Patients after Electroconvulsive Therapy

Table 1

Demographic and medical characteristics of study population.

Characteristics	Excluded patients; (𝑛=79)	Included patients; (𝑛=21)	𝑃 value^a	ECT; Responder^b; (𝑛=10)	ECT; Nonresponder^c; (𝑛=11)	𝑃 value^d
Age (mean years)	56±18	48±18	0.06	48±15	48±20	0.95
Gender
Female	47 (59%)	17 (81%)	0.06	9 (90%)	8 (73%)	0.59
Marital status
Married	52 (69%)	12 (57%)	0.29	7 (70%)	5 (45%)	0.39
Race
Caucasian	68 (88%)	21 (100%)		10 (100%)	11 (100%)
African-American	7 (9%)	0 (0%)	0.26	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	n/a
Other	2 (3%)	0 (0%)		0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Beck Depression Inventory score (mean ± SD)	32.5±12.5	35.1±10.5	0.38	37.7±9.8	33.7±10.9	0.29
Nicotine use	14 (18%)	4 (19%)	0.90	2 (20%)	2 (18%)	1.00
Hypertension^e	29 (40%)	5 (24%)	0.18	2 (20%)	3 (27%)	1.00
Hypercholesterolemia^f	32 (52%)	7 (39%)	0.34	4 (40%)	3 (38%)	1.00
Obesity^g	40 (57%)	8 (38%)	0.13	4 (40%)	4 (36%)	1.00
Family history of premature CAD, MI, or stroke^h	18 (30%)	4 (19%)	0.35	3 (30%)	1 (9%)	0.31
History of MI	5 (7%)	1 (5%)	0.71	0 (0%)	1 (9%)	1.00
Exercise^i	23 (32%)	6 (29%)	0.77	2 (20%)	4 (36%)	0.64
History of stroke	3 (4%)	1 (5%)	1.00	0 (0%)	1 (9%)	1.00
History of TIA	3 (4%)	0 (0%)	1.00	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	n/a

ECT: electroconvulsive therapy; nicotine use: daily cigarette or pipe use; CAD: coronary artery disease; MI: myocardial infarction; TIA: transient ischemic attack; n/a: not applicable.
^a𝑃 values are based on comparisons between excluded and the 2 groups of included (nonresponder, responder) patients.
^bECT responders: study patients who experienced a decrease in Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score of ≥50% from pre-ECT-1 BDI score.
^cECT nonresponders: study patients who experienced a decrease in Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score of <50% from pre-ECT-1 BDI score.
^d𝑃 values are based on comparisons between ECT responders and ECT nonresponders.
^eHypertension was defined as a persistent diastolic blood pressure at or >90 mm Hg, or systolic blood pressure at 140–180 mm Hg.
^fHypercholesterolemia: total cholesterol of >200 ng/dL.
^gObesity as indicated by a body mass index of >25 (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters).
^hFirst-degree male relative <55 years and/or first-degree female relative <65 years with CAD, MI, or stroke.
ⁱExercise: self-report of regular aerobic exercise of 20-minute duration three times a week.