The Daily Consumption Of Cannabis Predisposes
To The Appearance Of Psychosis And Schizophrenia, According To A Study
March 26, 2009
The daily consumption of cannabis predisposes to the appearance of psychosis and
schizophrenia, and those episodes of psychosis which are fruit of this substance
present certain specific characteristics, both before their appearance and in
the clinical presentation of the psychosis. This is one of the conclusions of
the doctoral thesis "Neurodevelopment and environmental stress in initial
psychosis: transversal analysis of the ESPIGAS study", carried out by
researcher Miguel Ruiz Veguilla, of the Institute of Neurosciences of the
University of Granada (Spain) and supervised by professors Manuel Gurpegui Fernández
de Legaria and Jorge Cervilla Ballesteros. Ruiz Veguilla is also the person in
charge fo the Unit of Development Neuropsychiatry of Jaén (Spain).
This work has studied the risk factors associated with schizophrenia,
identifying and characterizing in depth those psychosis associated with a
continual consumption of cannabis. They carried out a study with 92 subjects, 50
of which had developed a psychosis without presenting signs of an "abnormal
neurodevelopment", this is, they had been doing well academically, they had
a group of friends (no social isolation) and they presented a good motor
coordination. In addition, these subjects did not show a family history of
episodes of psychosis in first or second degree.
Identifying a new type of psychosis
The research work carried out by Miguel Ruiz Veguilla has identified a
connection between cannabis consumption and psychosis in subjects with a good
premorbid performance, and without signs of minor neurological alterations,
which in his opinion might point out "a psychopathological way associated
with psychosis in subjects with less predisposition".
Thus, 66% of the patients with psychosis who participated in the study and had a
normal neurodevelopment admitted to have consumed cannabis daily or almost every
day, whereas 43% of the participants with markers of an abnormal
neurodevelopment (those already indicated: bad previous social and academic
behaviour, a family history and a "clumsier" attitude when they carry
out tasks of motor coordination and complex motor acts) were drug users too.
In the light of the results of his doctoral thesis, the researcher of the
University of Granada says that, after having identified a type of psychosis
where the environmental factor plays a more relevant role, we should now answer
the question of which is the prognosis, in the long term, of those subjects with
a good previous behaviour, whose psychosis is associated with a high consumption
of cannabis.
The results of this research work have been published in the journals
"Schizophrenia Research" and "European Psychiatry", two of
the most renowned worldwide publications in this research field.
University of Granada
http://www.ugr.es
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