27/07/2007 00:00:00
Cannabis Use Raises Risk Of Psychotic Illness Later On By More Than 40%
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The evidence is now compelling enough to warn young people of a 40+%
higher risk of developing a psychotic illness later in life if they use
cannabis, according to an article published in The Lancet this week. The
Lancet also has an accompanying Comment and Editorial on the same
subject. The Editorial concludes that "Governments would do well to
invest in sustained and effective education campaigns on the risks to
health of taking cannabis."
Approximately 20% of young people in the UK say they consume cannabis
(marijuana) at least once a week. Cannabis is the most common illegal
substance in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Dr Theresa Moore, University of Bristol, and Dr Stanley Zammit, Cardiff
University, Wales, and team carried out a meta-analysis of 35 studies,
dating up to 2006. Their aim was to investigate whether the evidence
linking psychotic or mental health disorders to cannabis consumption was
compelling.
The researchers discovered that people who had ever consumed cannabis
were 41% more prone to develop some kind of psychotic illness, compared
to people who had never consumed it. They inform that the risk
intensifies according to the dose - very frequent cannabis consumers are
more than twice as likely to experience some kind of psychotic illness.
The researchers also looked to see whether there was a link between
cannabis consumption and suicidal thoughts and anxiety. They reported
that the findings for these outcomes were less reliable.
According to recent reports, say the authors, about 40% of young adults
and adolescents have ever used cannabis. This means that if the 41%
higher risk of a psychotic illnesses is linked to those who have ever
used cannabis, approximately 14% of psychotic outcomes in British young
adults would not have occurred if cannabis had never been consumed.
"We have described a consistent association between cannabis use and
psychotic symptoms, including disabling psychotic disorders. Despite the
inevitable uncertainty, policymakers need to provide the public with
advice about this widely used drug. We believe that there is now enough
evidence to inform people that using cannabis could increase their risk
of developing a psychotic illness later in life," the authors conclude.
"In the public debate, cannabis has been considered a more or less
harmless drug compared with alcohol, central stimulants, and opioids.
However, the potential long-term hazardous effects of cannabis with
regard to psychosis seem to have been overlooked, and there is a need to
warn the public of these dangers, as well as to establish a treatment to
help young frequent cannabis users." Drs Merete Nordentoft and Carsten
Hjorthoj, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark, say in the
accompanying Comment.
http://www.thelancet.com
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12739
Author:
Medical News Today via UKCIA
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