To Örebro University

OBJECTIVE: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been demonstrated to be an effective and well tolerated treatment for depression, and it is being investigated also for other indications. This study presents the Swedish National Quality Register for rTMS (Q-rTMS). The registry comprises epidemiological data, data from standardized rating scales, details on treatment settings, and a registry-specific patient questionnaire.

METHODS: A presentation of the Q-rTMS including the types of data collected, the organizational structure of the register, as well as a brief overview of the volume of data accumulated between the registry's inception in 2018 and the end of 2024.

RESULTS: As of 2024, the register contained data from a total of 3083 unique individuals and 3842 treatment series, collected from 27 different rTMS providers. The most common indication for rTMS was depression (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision diagnoses (ICD-10): F32-F34, 74.1%) followed by bipolar affective disorder (ICD-10: F31, 14.2%). The average age was 43.2 years, and 56.5% were women. The register included matched pre- and post-treatment data exceeding 60% completeness for the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale-Self Assessment (MADRS-S), the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S), and the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L).

CONCLUSION: The Q-rTMS combines high coverage with longitudinal documentation of clinically relevant outcome measures and may hence contribute to population-based real-world effectiveness research in rTMS for depression.