The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (EU-GEI): a multicentre case-control study
M. di Forti, D. Quattrone, T. Freeman, G. Tripoli, C. Gayer-Anderson, H. Quigley, Victoria Rodriguez, H. Jongsma, L. Ferraro, C. la Cascia, D. la Barbera, I. Tarricone, D. Berardi, A. Szöke, C. Arango, A. Tortelli, E. Velthorst, M. Bernardo, C. Del-Ben, P. Menezes, J. Selten, Peter B. Jones, J. Kirkbride, B. Rutten, L. de Haan, P. Sham, J. van Os, C. Lewis, M. Lynskey, C. Morgan, Robin M. Murray, S. Amoretti, M. Arrojo, G. Baudin, Stephanie Beards, J. Bobes, C. Bonetto, B. Cabrera, Á. Carracedo, T. Charpeaud, J. Costas, D. Cristofalo, Pedro Cuadrado, C. Díaz-Caneja, A. Ferchiou, Nathalie Franke, Flora Frijda, Enrique García Bernardo, P. García-Portilla, Emiliano González, Kathryn Hubbard, S. Jamain, E. Jiménez-López, M. Leboyer, Gonzalo López Montoya, E. Lorente-Rovira, Camila Marcelino Loureiro, G. Marrazzo, C. Martínez, M. Matteis, Elles Messchaart, M. Moltó, J. Nácher, M. Olmeda, M. Parellada, Javier González Peñas, B. Pignon, M. Rapado, J. Richard, J. J. Rodríguez Solano, Laura Roldán Díaz, M. Ruggeri, P. Sáiz, E. Sánchez, J. Sanjuan, C. Sartorio, F. Schürhoff, F. Seminerio, R. Shuhama, L. Sideli, S. Stilo, F. Termorshuizen, S. Tosato, A. Tronche, D. V. van Dam, E. van der Ven
Lancet Psychiatry May 1, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(19)30048-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2,138 |
| Population | Patients aged 18-64 years presenting with first-episode psychosis and population-based controls from 11 sites across Europe and Brazil |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | Daily cannabis use was associated with roughly three times higher odds of psychotic disorder, and daily use of high-potency cannabis (THC ≥10%) with nearly five times higher odds. Assuming causality, the authors estimate that eliminating high-potency cannabis could prevent 12.2% of first-episode psychosis cases across sites, 30.3% in London, and 50.3% in Amsterdam, and argue that variation in these use patterns contributes to differences in incidence across sites. |
Abstract
Summary Background Cannabis use is associated with increased risk of later psychotic disorder but whether it affects incidence of the disorder remains unclear. We aimed to identify patterns of cannabis use with the strongest effect on odds of psychotic disorder across Europe and explore whether differences in such patterns contribute to variations in the incidence rates of psychotic disorder.
Methods: We included patients aged 18–64 years who presented to psychiatric services in 11 sites across Europe and Brazil with first-episode psychosis and recruited controls representative of the local populations. We applied adjusted logistic regression models to the data to estimate which patterns of cannabis use carried the highest odds for psychotic disorder. Using Europe-wide and national data on the expected concentration of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the different types of cannabis available across the sites, we divided the types of cannabis used by participants into two categories: low potency (THC <10%) and high potency (THC ≥10%). Assuming causality, we calculated the population attributable fractions (PAFs) for the patterns of cannabis use associated with the highest odds of psychosis and the correlation between such patterns and the incidence rates for psychotic disorder across the study sites.
Findings: Between May 1, 2010, and April 1, 2015, we obtained data from 901 patients with first-episode psychosis across 11 sites and 1237 population controls from those same sites. Daily cannabis use was associated with increased odds of psychotic disorder compared with never users (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3·2, 95% CI 2·2–4·1), increasing to nearly five-times increased odds for daily use of high-potency types of cannabis (4·8, 2·5–6·3). The PAFs calculated indicated that if high-potency cannabis were no longer available, 12·2% (95% CI 3·0–16·1) of cases of first-episode psychosis could be prevented across the 11 sites, rising to 30·3% (15·2–40·0) in London and 50·3% (27·4–66·0) in Amsterdam. The adjusted incident rates for psychotic disorder were positively correlated with the prevalence in controls across the 11 sites of use of high-potency cannabis (r = 0·7; p=0·0286) and daily use (r = 0·8; p=0·0109).
Interpretation: Differences in frequency of daily cannabis use and in use of high-potency cannabis contributed to the striking variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across the 11 studied sites. Given the increasing availability of high-potency cannabis, this has important implications for public health. Funding source Medical Research Council, the European Community's Seventh Framework Program grant, São Paulo Research Foundation, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London and the NIHR BRC at University College London, Wellcome Trust.