Prenatal alcohol and tobacco exposures and the risk of cannabis use in offspring: Findings from a population-based cohort study

BackgroundCannabis use is considered a component cause of psychotic illness, interacting with genetic and other environmental risk factors. Little is known, however, about these putative interactions. The present study investigated whether an urban environment plays a role in moderating the effects of adolescent cannabis use on psychosis risk.MethodProspective data (n=1923, aged 14–24 years at baseline) from the longitudinal population-based German Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology cohort study were analysed. Urbanicity was assessed at baseline and defined as living in the city of Munich (1562 persons per km2; 4061 individuals per square mile) or in the rural surroundings (213 persons per km2; 553 individuals per square mile). Cannabis use and psychotic symptoms were assessed three times over a 10-year follow-up period using the Munich version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview.ResultsAnalyses revealed a significant interaction between cannabis and urbanicity [10.9% adjusted difference in risk, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.2–18.6, p=0.005]. The effect of cannabis use on follow-up incident psychotic symptoms was much stronger in individuals who grew up in an urban environment (adjusted risk difference 6.8%, 95% CI 1.0–12.5, p=0.021) compared with individuals from rural surroundings (adjusted risk difference −4.1%, 95% CI −9.8 to 1.6, p=0.159). The statistical interaction was compatible with substantial underlying biological synergism.ConclusionsExposure to environmental influences associated with urban upbringing may increase vulnerability to the psychotomimetic effects of cannabis use later in life.

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Associations of childhood sociability and responsibility with cannabis use trajectories during adolescence: results from a prospective population-based birth cohort study

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry ◽

10.1007/s00787-021-01730-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Catherine Laporte ◽

Bruno Pereira ◽

Orri Massimilliano ◽

Chadi Nicholas ◽

Natalie Castellanos-Ryan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Population Based ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

Birth Cohort Study

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

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph15122893 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (12) ◽

pp. 2893 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stéphanie Baggio ◽

Marlène Sapin ◽

Yasser Khazaal ◽

Joseph Studer ◽

Hans Wolff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Population Based ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Future Studies ◽

Network Analyses ◽

Network Estimation ◽

Cannabis Use Disorders

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.

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Associations between primary care recorded cannabis use and mental ill health in the UK: a population-based retrospective cohort study using UK primary care data

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s003329172100386x ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Deepiksana Keerthy ◽

Joht Singh Chandan ◽

Juste Abramovaite ◽

Krishna Margadhamane Gokhale ◽

Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Primary Care ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Population Based ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

Public Health Approach ◽

Increased Risk

Abstract Background Cannabis use is a global public health issue associated with increased risks of developing mental health disorders, especially in young people. We aimed to investigate the relationships between cannabis exposure and risks of receiving mental illness diagnoses or treatment as outcomes. Methods A population based, retrospective, open cohort study using patients recorded in ‘IQVIA medical research data’, a UK primary care database. Read codes were used to confirm patients with recorded exposure to cannabis use who were matched up to two unexposed patients. We examined the risk of developing three categories of mental ill health: depression, anxiety or serious mental illness (SMI). Results At study entry, the exposed cohort had an increased likelihood of having experienced mental ill health [odds ratio (OR) 4.13; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.99–4.27] and mental ill health-related prescription (OR 2.95; 95% CI 2.86–3.05) compared to the unexposed group. During the study period we found that exposure to cannabis was associated with an increased risk of developing any mental disorder [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 2.73; 95% CI 2.59–2.88], also noted when examining by subtype of disorder: anxiety (aHR 2.46; 95% CI 2.29–2.64), depression (aHR 2.34; 95% CI 2.20–2.49) and SMI (aHR 6.41; 95% CI 5.42–7.57). These results remained robust in sensitivity analyses. Conclusion These findings point to the potential need for a public health approach to the management of people misusing cannabis. However, there is a gross under-recording of cannabis use in GP records, as seen by the prevalence of recorded cannabis exposure substantially lower than self-reported survey records.

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