Age‐varying effects of cannabis use frequency and disorder on symptoms of psychosis, depression and anxiety in adolescents and adults

Abstract

Aims We tested the age‐varying associations of cannabis use (CU) frequency and disorder (CUD) with psychotic, depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescent and adult samples. Moderating effects of early onset (≤ 15 years) and sex were tested. Design Time‐varying effect models were used to assess the significance of concurrent associations between CU and CUD and symptoms of psychosis, depression and anxiety at each age. Setting and Participants Adolescent data (V‐HYS; n = 662) were collected from a randomly recruited sample of adolescents in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada during a 10‐year period (2003–13). Adult cross‐sectional data (NESARC‐III; n = 36 309) were collected from a representative sample from the United States (2012–13). Measurements Mental health symptoms were assessed using self‐report measures of diagnostic symptoms. CU was based on frequency of past‐year use. Past‐year CUD was based on DSM‐5 criteria. Findings For youth in the V‐HYS, CU was associated with psychotic symptoms following age 22 [ b = 0.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.002, 0.25], with depressive symptoms from ages 16–19 and following age 25 ( b = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.003, 0.34), but not with anxiety symptoms. CUD was associated with psychotic symptoms following age 23 ( b = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.01, 1.01), depressive symptoms at ages 19–20 and following age 25 ( b = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.001, 1.42) and anxiety symptoms ages 26–27 only. For adults in the NESARC‐III, CU was associated with mental health symptoms at most ages [e.g. psychotic symptoms; age 18 ( b = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.10, 0.33) to age 65 ( b = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.16, 0.56)]. CUD was associated with all mental health symptoms across most ages [e.g. depressive symptoms; age 18 ( b = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.19, 1.73) to age 61 ( b = 1.11, 95% CI = 0.01, 2.21)]. Interactions with sex show stronger associations for females than males in young adulthood [e.g. V‐HYS: CUD × sex interaction on psychotic symptoms significant after age 26 ( b = 1.12, 95% CI = 0.02, 2.21)]. Findings were not moderated by early‐onset CU. Conclusions Significant associations between cannabis use (CU) frequency and disorder (CUD) and psychotic and depressive symptoms in late adolescence and young adulthood extend across adulthood, and include anxiety.

Cannabis and the Developing Brain: Insights into Its Long-Lasting Effects

“…Such risks are not limited to the prenatal and perinatal periods: the onset of cannabis use normally occurs during adolescence, a period of continued brain maturation. Epidemiological data also suggest a greater frequency of use during the adolescent period is associated with psychiatric and substance use vulnerability (Silins et al, 2014;Leadbeater et al, 2019).…”

Factors Moderating the Association between Cannabis Use and Psychosis Risk: A Systematic Review

“…Moreover, psychotic-like experiences were associated with frequent cannabis use (β = 0.11, 95% CI 0.08-0.14), cannabis use disorder (β = 0.13, 95% CI 0.09-0.16), and current cannabis use (β = 0.07, 95% CI 0.04-0.10), even after adjustment for covariates (P < 0.05) [46]. Leadbeater and colleagues (2019) reported that more frequent cannabis use (β = 0.13, 95% CI 0.002-0.25, P < 0.05), as well as CUD (β = 0.51, 95% CI 0.01-1.01, P < 0.05), during adolescence were associated with psychotic symptoms at ages 22 and 23 [47]. Finally, Marconi and colleagues (2016) performed a meta-analysis of 18 studies reporting on the level of cannabis use that were published before 2014 and demonstrated that higher levels of cannabis use were associated with an increased risk for psychosis in all the included studies.…”

Fatigue in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Etiologies and Management

“…In fact, narcotic use was associated with a significantly higher burden of fatigue in patients with IBD [84]. Cannabis use, especially by young patients with IBD, is associated with depressive symptoms [85] as well as a motivational syndrome, which may be interpreted as fatigue.…”