Users of high-potency cannabis four times more likely to report associated problems

May 28, 2020

Science Daily/University of Bristol

Users of high-potency cannabis are four times more likely to report associated problems, and twice as likely to report anxiety disorder, than users of lower-potency strains, according to new research from the University of Bristol.

Published today on JAMA Psychiatry the research uses data from Children of the 90s, a long-term health study that recruited more than 14,000 pregnant women and their babies born in and around Bristol in the early 1990s and has been following their health and development ever since.

This is the first research of its kind to look at data from a general population sample, with previous research into the links between cannabis potency and mental health only looking at clinical and self-selecting samples of people who use drugs. Added to this, the nature of the data available from the Children of the 90s health study enabled the research team to take into account whether mental health symptoms were present before the individual started using cannabis.

Frequency of cannabis use, which is also often associated with increased mental health problems, was also taken into account in order to determine whether this would explain the relationship between higher-potency usage and mental health conditions.

Lead author Dr Lindsey Hines, Senior Research Associate from Bristol Medical School explained: "We know that people who use cannabis are more likely to report mental health problems than those who don't use cannabis, but we don't fully understand how recent increases in the strength and potency of cannabis affects this. This study gives us an estimate of the increased likelihood of mental health problems from use of high-potency cannabis, compared to use of lower-potency cannabis, and we are able to account for the effect that people's early adolescent mental health symptoms may have on this relationship."

The research looked at data collected from participants aged 24 years who had reported using cannabis in the previous year, of which 13 per cent reported use of high-potency cannabis. Participants were also asked about their usage, and those who self-reported two or more of the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) items within the past year were classified as having recently experienced problems as a result of their cannabis use. Researchers were then able to compare this data to reported mental health symptoms at age 24 as well as early symptoms of mental health collected when participants were younger.

Dr Hines continued: "People who use cannabis are more likely to report mental health problems than those who don't use cannabis, but reducing the potency and regularity of their cannabis use may be effective for lessening likelihood of harms from use. In countries where cannabis is sold legally, limiting the availability of high-potency cannabis may reduce the number of individuals who develop cannabis use disorders, prevent cannabis use escalating to a regular behaviour, and reduce impacts on mental health. In countries like the UK, where we are not able to limit the availability of high-potency cannabis, we should make sure there is good treatment and support for those who develop problems from cannabis use."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200528115817.htm

Teens from military families suffer from deployments

- November 19, 2013

Science Daily/Health Behavior News Service

Teens that have had a parent or sibling on military deployment were more likely to have suicidal thoughts or be depressed than teens without military connections, finds a new study.

"We've been in the longest war in recent history with increased numbers of individuals experiencing combat and being deployed for longer periods of time -- and multiple times," says study co-author Julie Cederbaum, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of Southern California. "We are logically thinking about the adult that is being deployed, but we're not talking enough about the kids left behind and how they might manage the military experience of their parent."

More than 13 percent of the teens surveyed had a parent or sibling in the military. Teens who had experienced just one deployment of a parent or sibling were 40 percent more likely to feel sad or hopeless, 24 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts and 15 percent more likely to be depressed than teens that did not have military connections.

"You see an even bigger shift with two or more deployments," Cederbaum says. "These kids were 56 percent more likely to experience feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 34 percent to have thought about suicide and 41 percent more likely to experience depressive symptoms."

Anita Chandra, Ph.D., a researcher at the RAND Corporation who has extensively studied military families says that there are many important factors that influence the mental health of teens with military connections, including the teens' age, the total number of months a parent is deployed and whether the parent was deployed into combat. Reintegration -- when a parent returns home -- can be an emotionally difficult time for military families, as well.

Additionally, Chandra notes, not all mental health findings of teens with military connections are negative. "We also know that kids in these families have exhibited a lot of rebound and recovery from deployment stress and a lot of resilience."

Even though the Iraq war ended in 2011 and American troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan, the mental health of children in military families is likely to remain an important issue.

"While many deployed service members return home with minimal reintegration issues, we know that a fair number of folks coming back from deployment aren't doing particularly well," says Cederbaum. "Their children may now be in a home where there's potential traumatic brain injury, mental distress, or substance misuse. That service member or veteran is going through an adjustment and the family has to readjust as well."

Increasing mental health screenings in pediatric and school settings and creating a safe environment for teens of military families to talk about their experiences and feel supported are ways to help identify and reach at-risk youth, Cederbaum says.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131119193439.htm