Body mass index is associated with the antidepressant effects of intravenous ketamine in patients with depression.
Frontiers in psychiatry – January 01, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
Higher body weight may boost ketamine's mood-lifting effects. In a clinical trial, patients with higher body mass index showed stronger improvements when treated with intravenous ketamine for major depressive disorder and bipolar depression. Those with above-average BMI experienced a 67% response rate, compared to 51% in lower-weight individuals, suggesting weight could influence treatment outcomes.
Abstract
We aimed to explore the correlation between baseline body mass index (BMI) and the antidepressant properties of intravenous ketamine in patients with depression. We divided 135 patients diagnosed with either major depressive disorder (n=103) or bipolar depression (n=32) into lower and higher BMI groups based on their baseline BMI. Patients with a lower BMI (BMI0.05). The linear mixed models with covariates indicated a significant group-by-time interaction in the MADRS scores (F 13, 1729=3.0, P0.05). Our exploratory, post-hoc analysis of an open-label, single-arm study suggests that patients with depression and a higher baseline BMI may experience greater reductions in depressive symptoms compared with those with a lower baseline BMI after receiving six ketamine infusions.