The contribution of cannabis use to the increased psychosis risk among minority ethnic groups in Europe.
J. Selten, Marta Di Forti, Diego Quattrone, P. Jones, Hannah E. Jongsma, Charlotte Gayer‐Anderson, Andreı̈ Szöke, P. Llorca, Celso Arango, Miquel Bernardo, Julio Sanjuán, J. L. Santos, M. Arrojo, Ilaria Tarricone, Domenico Berardi, Antonio Lasalvia, Sarah Tosato, Caterina la Cascia, Eva Velthorst, Els van der Ven, Lieuwe de Haan, Bart P. F. Rutten, Jim van Os, James B. Kirkbride, C. Morgan, R. Murray, F. Termorshuizen
Psychological Medicine May 9, 2024 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291724001004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,851 |
| Population | First-episode psychosis patients and population controls from sites in Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, including several migrant groups |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | Cannabis use contributed little to the excess risk of psychotic disorder among non-western minorities: the odds ratio of 1.80 for non-western minorities changed only to 1.81 after adjustment for frequency of cannabis use. The authors report some evidence of an effect for people of Black Caribbean heritage in London and Surinamese and Dutch Antillean heritage in Amsterdam, where adjustment reduced odds ratios from 2.45 to 1.61 and from 2.57 to 1.67, respectively. |
Abstract
Background: We examined whether cannabis use contributes to the increased risk of psychotic disorder for non-western minorities in Europe.
Methods: We used data from the EU-GEI study (collected at sites in Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands) on 825 first-episode patients and 1026 controls. We estimated the odds ratio (OR) of psychotic disorder for several groups of migrants compared with the local reference population, without and with adjustment for measures of cannabis use.
Results: The OR of psychotic disorder for non-western minorities, adjusted for age, sex, and recruitment area, was 1.80 (95% CI 1.39-2.33). Further adjustment of this OR for frequency of cannabis use had a minimal effect: OR = 1.81 (95% CI 1.38-2.37). The same applied to adjustment for frequency of use of high-potency cannabis. Likewise, adjustments of ORs for most sub-groups of non-western countries had a minimal effect. There were two exceptions. For the Black Caribbean group in London, after adjustment for frequency of use of high-potency cannabis the OR decreased from 2.45 (95% CI 1.25-4.79) to 1.61 (95% CI 0.74-3.51). Similarly, the OR for Surinamese and Dutch Antillean individuals in Amsterdam decreased after adjustment for daily use: from 2.57 (95% CI 1.07-6.15) to 1.67 (95% CI 0.62-4.53).
Conclusions: The contribution of cannabis use to the excess risk of psychotic disorder for non-western minorities was small. However, some evidence of an effect was found for people of Black Caribbean heritage in London and for those of Surinamese and Dutch Antillean heritage in Amsterdam.