Trajectories of Cannabis use Beginning in Adolescence Associated with Symptoms of Posttraumatic stress Disorder in the Mid-Thirties

Abstract

Background Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are related to a number of adverse consequences such as substance use and general medical conditions. The present longitudinal study seeks to find the longitudinal patterns of cannabis use as precursors of PTSD symptoms. Such information will serve as a guide for intervention programs for PTSD. Methods Growth mixture modeling was conducted to identify the cannabis use trajectory groups using a community sample of 674 participants (53% African Americans, 47% Hispanics of Puerto Rican decent; 60% females) from the Harlem Longitudinal Development Study. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between earlier trajectories of cannabis use (age 14 to 36) and later symptoms of PTSD (at age 36) for the full model including the entire sample (N=674) as well as the reduced model including only participants who had experienced a traumatic event (n=205). Results Five trajectory groups of cannabis use were obtained. The chronic use group (full model: Adjusted odds ratio, AOR=4.68, p<.01; reduced model: AOR=4.27, p<.05), the late quitting group (full model: AOR=6.18, p<.01; reduced model: AOR=6.67, p<.01), and the moderate use group (full model: AOR=3.97, p<.01; reduced model: AOR=3.32, p<.05) were all associated with an increased likelihood of having PTSD symptoms at age 36 compared with the no use group. Conclusions The findings provide information that PTSD symptoms in the mid 30s can possibly be reduced by decreasing membership in the chronic cannabis use trajectory group, the late quitting trajectory group, and the moderate cannabis use trajectory group.

Effects of Chronic Exposure to Low-Dose delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Adolescence and Adulthood on Serotonin/Norepinephrine Neurotransmission and Emotional Behavior

“…Interestingly, when THC was administered during adulthood, we found a decreased 5-HT firing activity that was not associated with any reduction of sucrose consumption or with a decreased latency to the first FST immobility, but only with an increased time and exploration of the open arms in the EPMT. This low 5-HT could be a neurobiological hallmark of a particular susceptibility to stress or trauma, as observed by ( Lee et al, 2018 ), who found that people consuming cannabis have an elevated risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder after exposure to trauma. For instance, several studies have demonstrated that animal models of chronic stress are correlated with a decrease in the firing activity of monoamine neurons, including 5-HT ( Pavcovich et al, 1990 ; Bambico et al, 2009 ).…”

Mechanisms of Shared Vulnerability to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorders

“…Patients with SUD necessarily are involved in risky substance use, and this kind of use can substantially increase the chances of encountering a wide range of traumatic experiences. Overdose deaths are common in this population, and high rates of rape, physical assaults, and other forms of interpersonal violence have been documented as well (Clark et al, 2001;Johnson et al, 2003Johnson et al, , 2006Kingston and Raghavan, 2009;Lee et al, 2018). One study found that almost a third of traumas resulting in PTSD among SUD patients occurred as a direct result of the use or procurement of illicit substances (Brady et al, 1998).…”

Cannabis and mental illness: a review

“…This finding, however, has been challenged as Metrik and colleagues found that, while individuals with PTSD report using cannabis to cope with sleep disturbances, patients later report significantly poorer sleep quality and physical health [105]. In terms of PTSD symptom severity, most data supports the association of cannabis users having a higher likelihood of presenting with PTSD symptoms, experiencing heightened negative affect, and showing improvements in symptoms following cannabis abstinence [91,98,141,153]. Moreover, when an individual meets PTSD criteria and concurrently uses cannabis, they typically experience increased withdrawal and craving [8].…”