Hype or hope? Ketamine for the treatment of depression: results from the application of deep learning to Twitter posts from 2010 to 2023
Qin Xiang Ng, Yu Liang Lim, Clarence Ong, Silas New, Johnson Fam, Tau Ming Liew
Frontiers in Psychiatry May 10, 2024 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1369727 via OpenAlex
Summary
Public attitudes toward ketamine for depression shifted notably after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 2019 approval. Analyzing 18,899 unique tweets from individual users between 2010 and 2023 revealed three main themes: changing regulations, cautious optimism, and personal experiences. Cautious optimism decreased over time, while personal accounts increasingly highlighted benefits for some treatment-resistant patients. The overall perception is hopeful about ketamine's therapeutic potential.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 18,899 |
| Population | Twitter users posting about ketamine and depression in English |
| Topics | Ketamine |
| Keywords | Social media Microblogging Thematic analysis Depression economics Optimism |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key finding | Public discourse on Twitter shows a hopeful but cautious shift toward ketamine for depression, especially after FDA approval, with personal accounts emphasizing benefits for treatment-resistant cases. |
Abstract
Objective: To investigate societal perceptions of ketamine's use in depression therapy by analysing Twitter posts from January 1, 2010 to April 1, 2023. Methods: Using Twitter as the social media platform of choice, and employing search terms based on (depression OR depressed OR depressive) AND (ketamine OR esketamine OR Spravato), we collected English-language tweets from January 1, 2010, to April 1, 2023. Using unsupervised machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) techniques, including Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and BERTopic, the study identified prevalent topics surrounding public chatter around the use of ketamine in depression treatment. Manual thematic analyses further refined these topics into themes. Results: Out of an initial dataset of 99,405 tweets, after removing duplicate tweets, re-tweets and tweets posted by organizations over Twitter, 18,899 unique tweets from presumably individual users were analysed. Analysis of temporal trends revealed a shift in public attitudes, particularly after the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s 2019 approval of ketamine for depression. Three major themes emerged: a changing regulatory landscape, cautious optimism, and personal experiences with the drug. There was an initial spike in discussions post-FDA approval in 2019. Thereafter, cautious optimism (Theme 2) decreased among the general public, with more personal accounts (Theme 3) highlighting the potential benefits for some treatment-resistant patients. Limitations of the study include Twitter's inherent biases towards younger, English-speaking demographics. Conclusion: In summary, the public's multifaceted perception leans towards a hopeful stance on ketamine's therapeutic potential for depression.