Quality of life and risk of psychiatric disorders among regular users of alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis: An analysis of the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC)
“…Interestingly, TUD was not significantly related to HRQoL. Previous studies reported that smokers have a worse HRQoL as compared with never smokers . The more negative findings reported here may be explained by our selection criteria, which excluded individuals with tobacco‐related chronic diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disorder, which are associated with loss of productivity and a worse HRQoL.…”
These data show that lowered HRQoL in major affective disorders could at least in part result from the effects of lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, lowered antioxidant enzyme activities, and higher levels of TSH.
“…Interestingly, TUD was not significantly related to HRQoL. Previous studies reported that smokers have a worse HRQoL as compared with never smokers . The more negative findings reported here may be explained by our selection criteria, which excluded individuals with tobacco‐related chronic diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disorder, which are associated with loss of productivity and a worse HRQoL.…”
These data show that lowered HRQoL in major affective disorders could at least in part result from the effects of lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, lowered antioxidant enzyme activities, and higher levels of TSH.
“…After abstract screening, 40 studies were assessed for eligibility at ‘full-text’ level, with 10 of these studies included in the meta-analysis. Three studies were conducted on the same sample14 18 19 but only one of these was included,14 due to its additional control variables.…”
The findings indicate that cannabis use is no more than a minor risk factor for the development of elevated anxiety symptoms in the general population. They may inform the debate surrounding the legalisation of cannabis.
“…Associations between cannabis use and bipolar disorder have been reported[142, 156–158] but not examined to the same depth as in psychotic illnesses or depression (recent reviews[134, 155, 159]). There is evidence that premorbid cannabis use predicts development of bipolar disorder[160–163] and an earlier age of onset[154, 164–166] and even some evidence of a dose response relationship[167]. On the other hand, there are also reports of cannabis use beginning after the emergence of bipolar disorder[168, 169], especially in children and adolescents[170], with reports of affected individuals using the drug to alleviate symptoms[171, 172].…”
Background
The use of cannabis has garnered more attention recently with ongoing efforts at marijuana legalization. The consequences of cannabis use are not clearly understood and remain a concern.
Objectives
to review the acute and persistent effects of cannabis use and associations with psychiatric disorders
Methods
Using Pubmed and PsychInfo, we conducted a narrative review of the literature on cannabis and psychiatric comorbidity using the keywords cannab*, marijuana, schizo*, psychosis, mood, depression, mania, bipolar and anxiety.
Results
There is substantial evidence of cannabis use leading to other illicit drug use and of an association between cannabis use and psychosis. A few reports suggest an association with bipolar disorder while the association with depression and anxiety disorders is mixed.
Conclusions
Whenever an association is observed between cannabis use and psychiatric disorders, the relationship is generally an adverse one. Age at the time of cannabis use appears to be an important factor with stronger associations observed between adolescent onset cannabis use and later onset of psychiatric disorders. Additional studies taking into account potential con-founds (such as withdrawal symptoms, periods of abstinence and other substance use) and moderators (such as age of initiation of cannabis use, amount and frequency of drug use, prior history of childhood maltreatment and gender) are needed to better under-stand the psychiatric consequences of cannabis use.
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