Abstract
Background: To assess the prevalence of cannabis use and dependence in a population of schizophrenic inpatients and to compare schizophrenics with and without cannabis consumption.Methods: One hundred one schizophrenic patients were examined during their first week of hospitalization. They answered the PANNS scale of schizophrenia, the CAGE and the Fagerström questionnaire, and the DSM-IV-TR criteria for cannabis, alcohol, opiates, and nicotine use dependence were checked. We also assessed socio-demographic characteristics, the motive of cannabis consumption, and the number of cannabis joints and alcoholic drinks taken.Results: The prevalence of cannabis consumption was 33.6% among schizophrenic inpatients. Schizophrenics consuming cannabis were younger than non-schizophrenics (33.3 vs. 44.7 years p < 0.0001), more often male (77 vs. 54%, p = 0.02) and had been hospitalized for the first time in psychiatry earlier (24.3 vs. 31.3 p = 0.003). Eighty-eight percent of cannabis consumers were dependent on cannabis. They were more often dependent on opiates (17 vs. 0%) and alcohol (32 vs. 7.4%, p = 0.001) and presented compulsive buying more often (48 vs. 27%, p = 0.04). Logistic regression revealed that factors associated to cannabis consumption among schizophrenics were cannabis dependence, male gender, pathological gambling, opiate dependence, number of joints smoked each day, and compulsive buying.Conclusion: 33.6% of the schizophrenic patients hospitalized in psychiatry consume cannabis and most of them are dependent on cannabis and alcohol. Hospitalization in psychiatry may provide an opportunity to systematically identify a dependence disorder and to offer appropriate information and treatment.
Highlights
Reported prevalence of substance use disorders in people suffering from schizophrenia ranges from 10 to 70% according to the assessment methods [1]
Logistic regression revealed that factors associated to cannabis consumption among schizophrenics were cannabis dependence, male gender, pathological gambling, opiate dependence, number of joints smoked each day, and compulsive buying
We try to answer the three following questions: Can we confirm the high prevalence of cannabis use and dependence in a population of French schizophrenic patients? For this purpose we assessed the frequency of cannabis consumption and dependence among a population of schizophrenic inpatients
Summary
Reported prevalence of substance use disorders in people suffering from schizophrenia ranges from 10 to 70% according to the assessment methods [1]. The use of psychoactive substances such as cannabis could be a form of self-medication in an attempt to mitigate symptoms and or to reduce side effects of the antipsychotic medication [2]. Cannabis use is especially detrimental to people with schizophrenia [5, 6]. It is associated with earlier onset of psychosis and with treatment-resistant forms of schizophrenia [7]. To assess the prevalence of cannabis use and dependence in a population of schizophrenic inpatients and to compare schizophrenics with and without cannabis consumption
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