Salud Mental

Early cannabis use and its relation to the development of psychiatric disorders: a review

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##

Carlos Roncero
Raúl Felipe Palma-Álvarez
Víctor Barrau
Neide Urbano
Nieves Martínez-Luna
María Bettina Ortiz-Medina
Constanza Daigre

Abstract

Background. Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in the world. Both an early cannabis use onset and the amount used contribute to the risk of suffering mental disorders in adulthood.

Objective. Review longitudinal studies conducted on adolescents associating early cannabis use with the subsequent occurrence of mental disorders.

Method. A search was conducted in PubMed until December 2016, focusing on longitudinal researches and prioritizing studies that clearly distinguished between an early and late onset of cannabis use. To achieve the objective, the word “cannabis” was used in combination with the main psychiatric diseases. A manual search of articles that appeared in the references was also conducted.

Results. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria, but only five studies discriminated clearly between early and late onset of cannabis use. An association was found between early onset of cannabis use and mental disorders, particularly psychosis. The information regarding affective and anxiety disorders is more controversial.

Discussion and conclusion. Early onset of cannabis use is associated with mental disorders, especially psychosis. Prevention plans for cannabis use in adolescents should be developed in order to decrease the risk of mental disorders.

Keywords:
Adolescence, cannabis, early drug use, psychosis, psychiatric disorders

References

Agrawal, A., Nurnberger, J.I., Lynskey, M.T, & The Bipolar Genome Study. (2011). Cannabis involvement in individuals with bipolar disorder. Psychiatry Research, 185(3), 459-461. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2010.07.007

Alpert, J., Maddocks, A., Rosenbaum, J., & Fava, M. (1994). Childhood psychopathology retrospectively assessed among adults with early onset major depression. Journal Of Affective Disorders, 31(3), 165-171.

Andréasson, S., Allebeck, P., Engström, A., & Rydberg, U. (1987). Cannabis and schizophrenia a Longitudinal Study of Swedish Conscripts. The Lancet, 330(8574), 1483-1486.

Arendt, M., Rosenberg, R., Fjordback, L., Brandholdt, J., Foldager, L., Sher, L., & Munk-Jørgensen, P. (2007). Testing the self-medication hypothesis of depression and aggression in cannabis-dependent subjects. Psychological Medicine, 37(7), 935-945.

Arseneault, L., Cannon, M., Poulton, R., Murray, R., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T.E. (2002). Cannabis use in adolescence and risk for adult psychosis: longitudinal prospective study. British Medical Journal, 325(7374), 1212-1213.

Bel, M.N., Inglés, M., & Piñol, J.L. (2009). Estudios de Cohorte. Fisioterapia, 31(5), 218-223. doi:10.1016/j.ft.2009.03.001

Bovasso, G. (2001). Cannabis Abuse as a Risk Factor for Depressive Symptoms. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(12), 2033-2037.

Caspi, A., Moffitt, T., Cannon, M., McClay, J., Murray, R., Harrington, H., ... & Craig, I.W. (2005). Moderation of the Effect of Adolescent-Onset Cannabis Use on Adult Psychosis by a Functional Polymorphism in the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Gene: Longitudinal Evidence of a Gene X Environment Interaction. Biological Psychiatry, 57(10), 1117-1127.

Colizzi, M., McGuire, P., Pertwee, R., & Bhattacharyya, S. (2016). Effect of cannabis on glutamate signalling in the brain: A systematic review of human and animal evidence. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 64, 359-381. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.03.010

Comisión Interamericana para el Control del Abuso de Drogas. (2006). Jóvenes y drogas en países sudamericanos: un desafío para las políticas públicas: primer estudio comparativo sobre uso de drogas en población escolar secundaria de Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Perú y Uruguay. Lima: Tetis Graf E.I.R.L. Retrieved from: http://cicad.oas.org/oid/NEW/statistics/siduc/Estudio_Comparativo_resumenex.pdf

Curran, H., Freeman, T., Mokrysz, C., Lewis, D., Morgan, C., & Parsons, L. (2016). Keep off the grass? Cannabis, cognition and addiction. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 17(5), 293-306. doi: 10.1038/nrn.2016.28

Currie, C., Zanotti, C., Morgan, A., Currie, D., de Looze, M., Roberts, C., ... & Barnekow, V. (2012). Social determinants of health and well-being among young people. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study: International report from the 2009/2010 survey. Copenhague: WHO Regional Office for Europe (Health Policy for Children and Adolescents, No. 6). Retrieved from: http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/Life-stages/child-and-adolescent-health/publications/2012/social-determinants-of-health-and-well-being-among-young-people.-health-behaviour-in-school-aged-children-hbsc-study

De Lisi, L. (2008). The effect of cannabis on the brain: can it cause brain anomalies that lead to increased risk for schizophrenia? Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 21(2),140-150. doi: 10.1097/YCO.0b013e3282f51266

Degenhardt, L. & Hall, W. (2006). Is Cannabis Use a Contributory Cause of Psychosis? The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 51(9), 556-565.

Degenhardt, L., Coffey, C., Carlin, J., Swift, W., Moore, E., & Patton, G. (2010). Outcomes of occasional cannabis use in adolescence: 10-year follow-up study in Victoria, Australia. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 196(4), 290-295. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.056952.

Degenhardt, L., Ferrari, A., Calabria, B., Hall, W., Norman, R., McGrath, J., ... & Vos, T. (2013). The Global Epidemiology and Contribution of Cannabis Use and Dependence to the Global Burden of Disease: Results from the GBD 2010 Study. Plos ONE, 8(10), e76635. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076635

Degenhardt, L., Hall, W., & Lynskey, M. (2003). Testing hypotheses about the relationship between cannabis use and psychosis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 71(1), 37-48.

Estrada, G., Fatjó-Vilas, M., Muñoz, M., Pulido, G., Miñano, M., Toledo, E., ... & Fañanás, L. (2011). Cannabis use and age at onset of psychosis: further evidence of interaction with COMT Val158Met polymorphism. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 123(6), 485-492. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2010.01665.x

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. (2010). Annual Report 2011. The State of the drug problems in Europe. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved From: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/annual-report/2012

Feingold, D., Weiser, M., Rehm, J., & Lev-Ran, S. (2015). The association between cannabis use and mood disorders: A longitudinal study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 172, 211-218. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.006

Ferdinand, R.F., Sondeijker, F., van der Ende, J., Selten, J.P., Huizink, A., & Verhulst, F.C. (2005). Cannabis use predicts future psychotic symptoms, and vice versa. Addiction,100(5), 612-618.

Fergusson, D. M., Boden, J. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2006). Cannabis use and other illicit drug use: testing the cannabis gateway hypothesis. Addiction, 101(4), 556-569.

Fergusson, D., Horwood, L., & Swain-Campbell, N. (2002). Cannabis use and psychosocial adjustment in adolescence and young adulthood. Addiction, 97(9), 1123-1135.

Fergusson, D., Horwood, L., & Swain-Campbell, N. (2003). Cannabis dependence and psychotic symptoms in young people. Psychological Medicine, 33(1), 15-21.

Fernandez, P., Tiffon, L., Solé, J., & San, L. (2003). Cannabis dependence: clinical implications. Based and one case. Actas Españolas de Psiquiatría, 31(5), 299-301.

Fernández-Artamendi, S., Fernández-Hermida, J. R., Secades-Villa, R., & García-Portilla, P. (2011). Cannabis y Salud Mental. Actas Españolas de Psiquiatría, 39(3), 180-90.

Fontes, M., Bolla, K., Cunha, P., Almeida, P., Jungerman, F., Laranjeira, R., ... & Lacerda, A. L. (2011). Cannabis use before age 15 and subsequent executive functioning. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 198(6), 442-447. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.110.077479

Fu, Q., Heath, A. C., Bucholz, K. K., Nelson, E., Goldberg, J., Lyons, M. J., ... & Eisen, S. A. (2002). Shared Genetic Risk of Major Depression, Alcohol Dependence, and Marijuana Dependence. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59(12), 1125-1132.

Gage, S., Hickman, M., & Zammit, S. (2016). Association Between Cannabis and Psychosis: Epidemiologic Evidence. Biological Psychiatry, 79(7), 549-556. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.08.001

Gonzalvo, B., Barral, C., Grau-López, L., Esteve, O., & Roncero, C. (2011). Psychiatric comorbidity in cannabis users. Trastornos Adictivos, 13(3), 109-112.

Hall, W. (2006). Is cannabis use psychotogenic? The Lancet, 367(9506), 193-195.

Hall, W., & Degenhardt, L. (2007). Prevalence and correlates of cannabis use in developed and developing countries. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 20(4), 393-397.

Hayatbakhsh, M. R., Najman, J. M, Jamrozik, K., Mamun, A. A., Alati, R., & Bor, W. (2007). Cannabis and Anxiety and Depression in Young Adults. Journal of The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46(3), 408-417.

Helle, S., Ringen, P., Melle, I., Larsen, T., Gjestad, R., Johnsen, ... & Løberg, E. M. (2016). Cannabis use is associated with 3 years earlier onset of schizophrenia spectrum disorder in a naturalistic, multi-site sample (N=1119). Schizophrenia Research, 170(1), 217-221. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2015.11.027

Henquet, C., Krabbendam, L., Spauwen, J., Kaplan, C., Lieb, R., Wittchen, H.U., & van Os, J. (2005). Prospective cohort study of cannabis use, predisposition for psychosis, and psychotic symptoms in young people. British Medical Journal, 330(7481), 11-14. doi: 10.1136/bmj.38267.664086.63

Houston, J., Murphy, J., Shevlin, M., & Adamson, G. (2011). Cannabis use and psychosis: re-visiting the role of childhood trauma. Psychological Medicine, 41(11), 2339-2348. doi: 10.1017/S0033291711000559.

Kandel, D. B., Davies, M., Karus, D., & Yamaguchi, K. (1986). The Consequences in Young Adulthood of Adolescent Drug Involvement. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43(8), 746-754.

Kandel, D., & Chen, K. (2000). Types of marijuana users by longitudinal course. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 61(3), 367-378.

Kendler, K. S., Prescott, C. A., Myers, J., & Neale, M. C. (2003). The Structure of Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Common Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders in Men and Women. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60(9), 929-937.

King, S. M., Iacono, W. G., & McGue, M. (2004). Childhood externalizing and internalizing psychopathology in the prediction of early substance use. Addiction, 99(12), 1548-1559.

Konings, M., Henquet, C., Maharajh, H., Hutchinson, G., & Van Os, J. (2008). Early exposure to cannabis and risk for psychosis in young adolescents in Trinidad. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 118(3), 209-213. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2008.01202.x

Ksir, C. & Hart, C. (2016). Cannabis and Psychosis: A Critical Overview of the Relationship. Current Psychiatry Reports, 18(2), 1-11. doi: 10.1007/s11920-015-0657-y

Kuepper, R., van Os, J., Lieb, R., Wittchen, H. U., Höfler, M., & Henquet, C. (2011). Continued cannabis use and risk of incidence and persistence of psychotic symptoms: 10 year follow-up cohort study. British Medical Journal, 342(1), d738. doi: 10.1136/bmj.d738

Lagerberg, T. V., Icick, R., Andreassen, O. A., Ringen, P. A., Etain, B., Aas, M., ... & Bellivier, F. (2016). Cannabis use disorder is associated with greater illness severity in tobacco smoking patients with bipolar disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 190, 286-293. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2015.10.023

Lagerberg, T. V., Sundet, K., Aminoff, S. R., Berg, A.O., Ringen, P. A., Andreassen, O. A., & Melle, I. (2011). Excessive cannabis use is associated with earlier age at onset in bipolar disorder. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 261(6), 397-405. doi: 10.1007/s00406-011-0188-4

Leite, R. T., Nogueira, S., do Nascimento, J. P., Lima, L. S., Nóbrega, T. B., Virgínio, M., ... & de Matos, F. G. (2015). The Use of Cannabis as a Predictor of Early Onset of Bipolar Disorder and Suicide Attempts. Neural Plasticity, 2015, 1-13. doi: 10.1155/2015/434127

Libby, A. M., Orton, H. D., Stover, S. K, & Riggs, P. D. (2005). What came first, major depression or substance use disorder? Clinical characteristics and substance use comparing teens in a treatment cohort. Addictive Behaviors, 30(9), 1649-1662.

Manrique-Garcia, E., Zammit, S., Dalman, C., Hemmingsson, T., Andreasson, S., & Allebeck, P. (2012). Cannabis, schizophrenia and other non-affective psychoses: 35 years of follow-up of a population-based cohort. Psychological Medicine, 42(6), 1321-1328. doi: 10.1017/S0033291711002078

Marmorstein, N. R, & Iacono, W. G. (2011). Explaining associations between cannabis use disorders in adolescence and later major depression: A test of the psychosocial failure model. Addictive Behaviors, 36(7), 773-776.

Miller-Johnson, S., Lochman, J. E., Coie, J. D., Terry, R., & Hyman, C. (1998). Comorbidity of conduct and depressive problems at sixth grade: substance use outcomes across adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 26(3), 221-232.

Moore, T., Zammit, S., Lingford-Hughes, A., Barnes, T., Jones, P., Burke, M., & Lewis, G. (2007). Cannabis use and risk of psychotic or affective mental health outcomes: a systematic review. The Lancet, 370(9584), 319-328.

Myles, H., Myles, N., & Large, M. (2016). Cannabis use in first episode psychosis: Meta-analysis of prevalence, and the time course of initiation and continued use. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 50(3), 208-219. doi: 10.1017/S0033291707009956

Parolaro, D. (2010). Adolescent cannabis consumption and schizophrenia: Epidemiological and experimental evidences. Adicciones, 22(3), 185-189.

Patton, G. C., Coffey, C., Carlin, J. B., Degenhardt, L., Lynskey, M., & Hall, W. (2002). Cannabis use and mental health in young people: cohort study. British Medical Journal, 325(7374), 1195-1198.

Poulin, C., Hand, D., Boudreau, B., & Santor, D. (2005). Gender differences in the association between substance use and elevated depressive symptoms in a general adolescent population. Addiction, 100(4), 525-535.

Power, R., Verweij, K., Zuhair, M., Montgomery, G., Henders, A., Heath, A., ... & Martin, N. G. (2014). Genetic predisposition to schizophrenia associated with increased use of cannabis. Molecular Psychiatry, 19(11), 1201-1204. doi: 10.1038/mp.2014.51

Rey, J., & Tennant, C. C. (2002). Cannabis and mental health. British Medical Journal, 325(7374), 1183-1184.

Roncero, C., Collazos, F., Valero, S., & Casas, M. (2007). Cannabis consumption and development of psychosis: state of the art. Actas Españolas de Psiquiatría, 35(3), 182-189.

Sherif, M., Radhakrishnan, R., D’Souza, D., & Ranganathan, M. (2016). Human Laboratory Studies on Cannabinoids and Psychosis. Biological Psychiatry, 79(7), 526-538. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.01.011

Sideli, L., Fisher, H., Murray, R., Sallis, H., Russo, M., Stilo, S., ... & DiForti, M. (2015). Interaction between cannabis consumption and childhood abuse in psychotic disorders: Preliminary findings on the role of different patterns of cannabis use. Early Intervention in Psychiatry. doi: 10.1111/eip.12285

Suárez-Pinilla, P., López-Gil, J., & Crespo-Facorro, B. (2014). Immune system: A possible nexus between cannabinoids and psychosis. Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 40, 269-282. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2014.01.018

Tournier, M., Sorbara, F., Gindre, C., Swendsen, J., & Verdoux, H. (2003). Cannabis use and anxiety in daily life: A naturalistic investigation in a non-clinical population. Psychiatry Research, 118(1), 1-8.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2008). World Drug Report 2015. Vienna: UNODC. Retrieved from: https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr2015/World_Drug_Report_2015.pdf

van Laar, M., van Dorsselaer, S., Monshouwer, K., & de Graaf, R. (2007). Does cannabis use predict the first incidence of mood and anxiety disorders in the adult population? Addiction, 102(8), 1251-1260.

van Os, J., Bak, M., Hanssen, M., Bijl, R. V., de Graaf, R., & Verdoux, H. (2002). Cannabis Use and Psychosis: A Longitudinal Population-based Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 156(4), 319-327.

van Winkel, R., & Genetic Risk and Outcome of Psychosis Investigators. (2011). Family-based analysis of genetic variation underlying psychosis-inducing effects of cannabis: sibling analysis and proband follow-up. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(2), 148-157. doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.152

Veen, N., Selten, J., van der Tweel, I., Feller, W., Hoek, H., & Kahn, R. (2004). Cannabis Use and Age at Onset of Schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161(3), 501-506.

Wilens, T. (2004). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the substance use disorders: the nature of the relationship, subtypes at risk, and treatment issues. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 27(2), 283-301.

Zammit S., Allebeck, P., Andreasson, S., Lundberg, I., & Lewis, G. (2002). Self reported cannabis use as a risk factor for schizophrenia in Swedish conscripts of 1969: Historical cohort study. British Medical Journal, 325(7374), 1199-1201.

Zammit, S., Owen, M., Evans, J., Heron, J., & Lewis, G. (2011). Cannabis, COMT and psychotic experiences. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 199(5), 380-385. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.111.091421