The effect of electroconvulsive therapy on blood glucose, creatinine levels, and lipid profile and its association with the type of psychiatric disorders

Abstract

Although the mechanism of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is not clearly known, its effects on hormones have been widely studied. However, there are controversies about the effect of ECT on blood glucose level. In addition, the possible effects of ECT on the blood cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglyceride levels are ignored research areas.The present study was conducted on 99 patients with major depressive disorder, bipolar mood disorder, or schizophrenia. Overall, two blood samples were taken. The first of which was taken before administering ECT and the second one was taken during 20min after taking ECT while the patients were on fasting. The blood glucose, cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglyceride, and creatinine levels were measured.The blood glucose and cholesterol levels after taking ECT were statistically more than those of pre-ECT. However, no significant difference was found between pre- and post-ECT regarding the levels of LDL, HDL, triglyceride, and creatinine. Moreover, the type of psychiatric disorder, weight, height, age, and gender did not predict the post-ECT glucose level.ECT may immediately increase the blood glucose and total cholesterol levels, while it does not affect any of the other mentioned parameters. These increases seem to be independent of the type of psychiatric disorders.