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Temporal Association of Cannabis Use with Symptoms in Individuals at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis

C. Corcoran, D. Kimhy, Arielle D. Stanford, Shamir A. Khan, J. Walsh, Judy L. Thompson, S. Schobel, J. Harkavy-Friedman, R. Goetz, T. Colibazzi, V. Cressman, D. Malaspina

Schizophrenia Research September 21, 2008 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2008.08.008 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational cohort Longitudinal Peer reviewed
Sample size 32
Population Clinical high risk cases meeting research criteria for prodromal psychosis
Duration Up to 2 years
Topics Cannabis
Key findings In clinical high risk cases, periods of increased cannabis use were associated with significantly more perceptual disturbances and worse functioning, independent of other substance use, suggesting cannabis may exacerbate sub-threshold psychotic symptoms.

Abstract

Background: Cannabis use is reported to increase the risk for psychosis, but no prospective study has longitudinally examined drug use and symptoms concurrently in clinical high risk cases.

Method: We prospectively followed for up to 2 years 32 cases who met research criteria for prodromal psychosis to examine the relationship between substance use and clinical measures.

Results: Cases with a baseline history of cannabis use (41%) were older, but did not differ in clinical measures. Longitudinal assessments showed these cases had significantly more perceptual disturbances and worse functioning during epochs of increased cannabis use that were unexplained by concurrent use of other drugs or medications.

Conclusions: These data demonstrate that cannabis use may be a risk factor for the exacerbation of sub-threshold psychotic symptoms, specifically perceptual disturbances, in high risk cases.

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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