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Premorbid social adjustment is better in cannabis-using than non-using psychotic patients across Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2020

L. Ferraro*
Affiliation:
University of Palermo, Psychiatry, Palermo, Italy
V. Capuccio
Affiliation:
University of Palermo, Statistics, Palermo, Italy
A. Mulè
Affiliation:
University of Palermo, Psychiatry, Palermo, Italy
C. La Cascia
Affiliation:
University of Palermo, Psychiatry, Palermo, Italy
L. Sideli
Affiliation:
University of Palermo, Psychiatry, Palermo, Italy
G. Tripoli
Affiliation:
University of Palermo, Psychiatry, Palermo, Italy
F. Seminerio
Affiliation:
University of Palermo, Psychiatry, Palermo, Italy
C. Sartorio
Affiliation:
University of Palermo, Psychiatry, Palermo, Italy
D. La Barbera
Affiliation:
University of Palermo, Psychiatry, Palermo, Italy
R. Murray
Affiliation:
King's College of London, Psychosis Studies, London, United Kingdom
M. Di Forti
Affiliation:
King's College of London, Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom
*
* Corresponding author.

Abstract

Introduction

A number of authors have hypothesized that psychotic patients who consume cannabis constitute a differentiated subgroup of patients that have better cognitive and social skills, necessary to engage in illegal drug consumption, than non-using patients.

Objectives

Given that the prevalence, and patterns, of cannabis use are culturally driven, we wanted to study first-episode psychosis (FEP) cannabis-using and non-using patients coming from different European countries as part of the EUGEI-STUDY.

Aims

We tested the hypothesis of better premorbid social adjustment in cannabis-using FEP patients, by comparing them to FEP non cannabis users and to their respective healthy controls.

Methods

A total of 1745 people (746 cases; 999 controls) completed the assessment for premorbid adjustment [Premorbid Adjustment Scale (PAS)] and cannabis use (CEQ-Revised). We first extracted the Premorbid Social Adjustment Factor (PSA) from PAS and then performedlinear mixed models with PSA as dependent variable and cannabis lifetime (Yes/No) and subject status (Cases/Controls) as independent variables. We then considered “Country” as random intercept.

Results

Across all countries, PSA scores were better in patients who had smoked cannabis in their lifetime than patients who had not (P = 0.009). The difference in PSA score between cannabis users and non-users was significantly greater in cases than controls (P = 0.038). The relationship between PSA, cannabis lifetime (Yes/No) and subject status among nations (random intercept) is shown on Fig. 1.

Conclusions

Cannabis-using psychotic patients show better premorbid social adjustment than non-using patients, across 5 European countries.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Type
FC77
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2016

Fig. 1 PSA scores by subject status (cases/controls) and cannabis use (yes/no) across different countries.

Figure 0

Fig. 1 PSA scores by subject status (cases/controls) and cannabis use (yes/no) across different countries.

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