In a recent study published in the journal Psychological Medicine , researchers investigate the link between psychotic disorders and youth cannabis use. To this end, cannabis use was found to increase the risk of psychotic disorders during adolescence significantly but not during young adulthood, with this risk notably higher in the context of more potent cannabis products currently on the market. Study: Age-dependent association of cannabis use with risk of psychotic disorder .
Image Credit: Kovalevich28 / Shutterstock.com Previous research indicates a possible link between psychotic disorders and youth cannabis use, with studies identifying an increased likelihood of psychotic disorders among cannabis users. However, these studies often rely on older data when cannabis products were less potent.
Many of these studies are also associated with important limitations, including small sample sizes and less clinically relevant outcomes. The current study used recent population-based data to estimate the strength of the association between cannabis use during youth and the risk of developing a clinically diagnosed psychotic disorder. The researchers were also interested in providing updated evidence on the relationship between cannabis use and psychotic disorders, considering recent increases in cannabis potency.
The current analysis used data from the 2009 to 2012 cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) linked to administrative health data in Ontario. All study part.