Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6813829 | Psychiatry Research | 2015 | 5 Pages |
Abstract
The mechanism underneath the relationship between cannabis and psychosis remains controversial, for which several hypotheses have been proposed, including cannabis as self-medication and cannabis as a risk for the development of psychosis. The aim of this work was to study the relationship between cannabis and psychosis in first-episode psychosis cannabis users and non-users, and non-psychotic cannabis users. The age at the first psychotic episode, duration of untreated psychosis, psychopathology and reasons for cannabis use were assessed. First-episode psychosis cannabis users showed an earlier age at psychosis onset than non-user patients. No significant differences in symptomatology were found. The distinguishing reasons to use cannabis for patients with first-episode psychosis with respect to non-psychotic users were to arrange their thoughts and deal with hallucinations and suspiciousness. These findings are in agreement with both hypotheses: self-medication and secondary psychosis hypothesis. However, longitudinal prospective cohort studies assessing reasons for cannabis use are needed to investigate both hypotheses and their complementarity.
Related Topics
Life Sciences
Neuroscience
Biological Psychiatry
Authors
Anna Mané, Miguel Fernández-Expósito, Daniel Bergé, Laura Gómez-Pérez, Agnés Sabaté, Alba Toll, Laura Diaz, Cristobal Diez-Aja, Victor Perez,