The Effects of Ketamine and Esketamine on Measures of Quality of Life in Major Depressive Disorder and Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Systematic Review.
Journal of affective disorders August 1, 2025 Morgan C H Cheng, Christine E Dri, Hana Ballum et al. 12 citations
Ketamine and esketamine produce rapid antidepressant effects in major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression, but their impact on patient-reported quality of life has been unclear. A systematic review of five studies found that both agents improve quality of life measures on scales such as the WHOQOL-BREF, Assessment of Quality of Life 8D, and EuroQol-5 Dimension-5 Layers, with statistically significant results. However, the studies had an overall moderate risk of bias and varied in the quality-of-life scales used and study duration. Further research should examine effects on specific quality-of-life domains.