Demographic and clinical predictors of response and remission in the treatment of major depressive disorder with ketamine and esketamine: A systematic review.
Psychiatry research March 1, 2025 Juliana Lima Constantino, Martijn Godschalk, Jens H van Dalfsen et al. 14 citations
About half of people with treatment-resistant depression do not respond to (es)ketamine, despite its known efficacy. This systematic review of 44 studies examined whether demographic or clinical traits predict who will respond or remit after (es)ketamine treatment. Overall, most demographic and clinical variables showed no consistent predictive value. Preliminary evidence linked better response to anhedonia, sleep disturbances, childhood physical abuse, obesity, openness, better episodic memory and visual learning, poorer neurocognitive performance, slower processing speed, and lower attention, while melancholic depression, benzodiazepine use, and metabolic syndrome were linked to worse response. These associations need replication, but suggest (es)ketamine may benefit patients with characteristics often considered hard to treat.