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Cannabis use and attenuated positive and negative symptoms in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis.

Olga Santesteban-Echarri, Lu Liu, Madeline Miller, Carrie E. Bearden, Kristin Cadenhead, Tyrone D. Cannon, Barbara Cornblatt, Matcheri S Keshavan, Daniel H. Mathalon, Thomas H. McGlashan, D. Perkins, L. Seidman, William S. Stone, Ming T. Tsuang, Elaine F. Walker, S. Woods, Jean Addington

Schizophrenia Research August 25, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.08.005 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Prospective longitudinal study Peer reviewed
Sample size 806
Population Youth age 12-30 at clinical high-risk for psychosis and healthy controls
Duration 2-year follow-up
Topics Cannabis
Key findings Cannabis use severity was unrelated to clinical status at two years and did not differentiate high-risk youth who transitioned to psychosis from those who did not.

Abstract

Cannabis use is more prevalent among youth at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis than healthy controls (HC). There is mixed evidence as to whether cannabis use is associated with increased severity of attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS) or whether current cannabis use is associated with the transition to psychosis. This study aims to assess cannabis use differences between CHR youth and HC and the impact of cannabis use on APS, clinical status, and transition to psychosis. Participants were from the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study-3, a prospective longitudinal study including 710 individuals, age 12-30, meeting criteria for a psychosis risk syndrome based on the Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes, and 96 HC. Cannabis use, frequency, and severity of use were assessed with the Alcohol Use Scale/Drug Use Scale. Current and past cannabis use disorders were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5. Compared to HC, CHR individuals reported significantly increased lifetime cannabis use, during the past six months, and at baseline; greater frequency and severity of cannabis use; and increased prevalence of cannabis use disorder. Relative to CHR youth without cannabis use, CHR cannabis users had significantly higher ratings on baseline grandiosity and lower 12-months social anhedonia. Severity of cannabis was unrelated to clinical status at 2-years, and it did not differentiate CHR individuals who transitioned to psychosis from those who did not. However, a major limitation was that the current number of CHR cannabis users was small, and survival analyses resulted in a smaller power than the 80 % recommended.

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on cannabis, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
High-potency cannabis and the risk of psychosis People with first episode of psychosis and healthy controls from the local population 2009 Case-control study n = 454
Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada Rural aboriginal population 2013 Observational study
Impaired cognitive performance in drug free users of recreational ecstasy (MDMA) Otherwise healthy young people 2000 Observational
Continued cannabis use and risk of incidence and persistence of psychotic symptoms: 10 year follow-up cohort study Individuals from the general population in Germany aged 14-24 at baseline 2011 Observational cohort n = 1,923
Cannabis-induced psychosis and subsequent schizophrenia-spectrum disorders: follow-up study of 535 incident cases Patients treated for cannabis-induced psychotic symptoms in Denmark between 1994 and... 2005 Observational cohort n = 535

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