Cannabis consumption and risk of developing schizophrenia: myth or reality?
نویسندگان
چکیده
Cannabis is one of the most popular recreational drugs. The rates of use and dosage, based on the levels of active compounds present in street drugs, is thought to be climbing in the UK and Europe; 40% of 15 years olds in the UK are thought to have tried the drug. There is no dispute that cannabis intoxication can cause brief psychotic episodes or short-term relapse of pre-existing psychotic symptoms (Negrete et al., 1986; Thornicroft,1990; Mathers & Ghodse, 1992). More worryingly, during the past few years a number of studies have indicated that exposure to cannabis is associated with cognitive impairment and the risk (about two fold) of developing psychosis (Ashton, 2002; Iversen, 2003; Arseneault et al., 2004). It is quite surprising that it has taken more than fifteen years to produce public health interest in the association between one of the most widely used psychotropic drugs and one of the most devastating of mental illnesses. In 1987 Andreasson described an association between cannabis use and onset of psychosis (Andreasson et a/., 1987). This landmark cohort-study of 45,000 Swedish male conscripts (representing 97 percent of men age 1820 in the population at that time) and a 15-year follow up, found that heavy use of marijuana at age 18 increased the risk of schizophrenia later in life by six times. There was a dose-response relationship between cannabis use at age eighteen and schizophrenia diagnosis 15 years later.
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ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Epidemiologia e psichiatria sociale
دوره 14 4 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2005