Comorbidity of Symptoms of Alcohol and Cannabis Use Disorders among a Population-Based Sample of Simultaneous Users. Insight from a Network Perspective

Abstract

Research into comorbidity of alcohol and cannabis use disorders has resulted in inconsistent findings, especially among simultaneous users, who used alcohol and cannabis together on a single occasion. This study investigated the association of alcohol and cannabis use disorders among simultaneous users using a network perspective, which considers direct relationships between symptoms. We used a subset of simultaneous alcohol and cannabis users driven from the representative population-based sample of young Swiss men cohort study on substance use risk factors (C-SURF) (n = 1559 at baseline and n = 991 at follow-up). Self-reported symptoms of alcohol and cannabis use disorders were collected. Network analyses included network estimation, visualization, and community detection tests. Alcohol and cannabis use symptoms were separated in two distinct clusters, with few paths between them (eleven positive edges at baseline, three at follow-up). Withdrawal symptoms were likely to connect the two disorders at baseline, but not at follow-up. Alcohol and cannabis use disorders appeared as separate disorders among simultaneous users. Our findings mitigated previous findings on the detrimental association between alcohol and cannabis use. Future studies should incorporate network analyses as a means to study comorbidity in other community and clinical samples to confirm our preliminary findings.

Bridge Nodes between Personality Traits and Alcohol-Use Disorder Criteria: The Relevance of Externalizing Traits of Risk Taking, Callousness, and Irresponsibility

“…The alcohol diagnostic criteria maintain close relationships, leading them to be organized into an independent community, while the AMPD facets are organized into two interrelated communities, linked to the internalizing and externalizing spectrum. This organization of the AMPD facets is consistent with studies that have applied a hierarchical analysis of personality [ 42 , 43 , 44 ], and the independent organization of the AUD is congruent with the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) model [ 45 ] and previous network analysis studies [ 46 , 47 , 48 ]. Despite the relative independence of the three communities, the AUD diagnostic criteria show relationships with a set of personality facets that act as a bridge.…”

Simultaneous Alcohol and Marijuana Use Among Young Adults: A Scoping Review of Prevalence, Patterns, Psychosocial Correlates, and Consequences

“… 23 Among a Swiss population that engaged in same-day co-use of alcohol and marijuana, symptoms of alcohol use disorder and cannabis use disorder appeared to be associated with distinct clusters of symptoms rather than overlapping disorders. 66 …”

More drugs, more problems? Simultaneous use of alcohol and marijuana at parties among youth and young adults

“…Protective behavioral strategies that minimize the likelihood of experiencing adverse consequences should be included within prevention efforts (Bravo et al, 2017;Pearson, 2013). Future research on prevention strategies to prevent SAM use and associated consequences is needed and should take into account the co-use of alcohol and marijuana as well as the potential separate alcohol or marijuana use disorders (Baggio et al, 2018;Yurasek et al, 2017).…”