TY - JOUR

T1 - Electroconvulsive Therapy and Risk of Road Traffic Accidents

T2 - A Danish Register-Based Cohort Study

AU - Hjerrild, Simon

AU - Jørgensen, Martin Balslev

AU - Dam, Ole Henrik

AU - Tehrani, Elisabeth

AU - Videbech, Poul

AU - Osler, Merete

N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Objective The aim of the study is to examine whether electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was associated with the subsequent risk of being involved in a road traffic accident. Methods A cohort of all 375,435 patients older than 18 years with their first psychiatric hospital contact between 2003 and 2017 in the Danish National Patient Registry was followed for road traffic accidents until December 2018. Associations between ECT and road traffic accidents were examined using Cox regression analyses with multiple adjustments and using propensity score matching on sociodemographic and clinical variables. Results A total of 8486 patients (0.2%) were treated with ECT. During the median follow-up of 5.9 years, 778 of these patients (12.5%) were involved in a road traffic accident and the unadjusted incidence of road traffic accidents was lower among these patients (incidence rate, 15.5 per 1000 patient-years; 95% confidence interval [CI], 14.5-16.7) compared with patients not treated with ECT (incidence rate, 20.0 per 1000 patient-years; 95% CI, 20.0-20.3). Electroconvulsive therapy was not associated with road traffic accidents in the Cox regression models after adjustment for all covariables (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.92-1.08) or in the propensity score-matched sample (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83-1.08). The HRs did not vary materially with follow-up time or when analyses were stratified on sex, age, or type of hospital contact. Conclusions The analysis of Danish National registry data indicates that ECT is not associated with the risk of being involved in major road traffic accidents.

AB - Objective The aim of the study is to examine whether electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was associated with the subsequent risk of being involved in a road traffic accident. Methods A cohort of all 375,435 patients older than 18 years with their first psychiatric hospital contact between 2003 and 2017 in the Danish National Patient Registry was followed for road traffic accidents until December 2018. Associations between ECT and road traffic accidents were examined using Cox regression analyses with multiple adjustments and using propensity score matching on sociodemographic and clinical variables. Results A total of 8486 patients (0.2%) were treated with ECT. During the median follow-up of 5.9 years, 778 of these patients (12.5%) were involved in a road traffic accident and the unadjusted incidence of road traffic accidents was lower among these patients (incidence rate, 15.5 per 1000 patient-years; 95% confidence interval [CI], 14.5-16.7) compared with patients not treated with ECT (incidence rate, 20.0 per 1000 patient-years; 95% CI, 20.0-20.3). Electroconvulsive therapy was not associated with road traffic accidents in the Cox regression models after adjustment for all covariables (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.92-1.08) or in the propensity score-matched sample (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83-1.08). The HRs did not vary materially with follow-up time or when analyses were stratified on sex, age, or type of hospital contact. Conclusions The analysis of Danish National registry data indicates that ECT is not associated with the risk of being involved in major road traffic accidents.

KW - accidents

KW - depression

KW - driving

KW - ECT

KW - electroconvulsive therapy

KW - epidemiology

KW - major depression

KW - safety

KW - traffic accidents

U2 - 10.1097/YCT.0000000000000881

DO - 10.1097/YCT.0000000000000881

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36095094

AN - SCOPUS:85148964623

VL - 39

SP - 10

EP - 14

JO - Journal of Electroconvulsive Therapy

JF - Journal of Electroconvulsive Therapy

SN - 1095-0680

IS - 1

ER -