One 10 ml vial of 1000 mg ketamine. Credit: Psychonaught/Wikipedia A study analyzing data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that past-year recreational ketamine use among adults has increased dramatically since 2015, including significant shifts in associations with depression and sociodemographic characteristics such as race, age and education status.
The study, published online in the Journal of Affective Disorders , was led by Kevin Yang, M.D., a third-year resident physician in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
Ketamine use has shown promise in clinical trials for several mental illnesses, including treatment-resistant depression , and the new research suggests that ongoing monitoring of recreational use trends is crucial to balancing these clinical benefits against the risk of unmonitored recreational use.
Key findings include: Overall past-year recreational ketamine use increased by 81.8% from 2015 to 2019 and by 40% from 2021 to 2022.
Adults with depression were 80% more likely to have used ketamine in the past year in 2015–2019, but this association weakened in later years. In 2021–2022, ketamine use increased only among those without depression.
In 2021–2022, adults aged 26–34 were 66% more likely to have used ketamine in the past year compared to adults aged 18–25. Those with college degrees were more than twice as likely to have used ketamine compared to people with a high school education or less.
People were more likely to use ketamine if they used other substances, such as ecstasy/MDMA, GHB, and cocaine.
The researchers recommend expanding prevention outreach to settings like colleges, where younger adults may be at heightened risk, as well as providing education on the harms of polydrug use, particularly in combination with opioids.
As medical ketamine becomes more widely available, they also emphasize the need for continued surveillance of recreational ketamine use patterns and further research to understand the factors that contribute to ketamine use. More information: Kevin H. Yang et al, Trends and characteristics in ketamine use among US adults with and without depression, 2015–2022, Journal of Affective Disorders (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.12.108 Provided by University of California – San Diego
Research shows ketamine use is on the rise in U.S. adults: New trends emerge
