Detailed contribution information
| Contribution title | Does the pattern of cannabis use have an impact on 18-month outcome in adolescents at Clinical High Risk (CHR) for psychosis? Results from the CAPRIS study. |
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| Contribution code | D1.070 |
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| Form of presentation | Poster |
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| Abstract |
Occasional cannabis users at CHR for psychosis have less severe symptoms compared to frequent users (Kennedy et al, 2024). Despite compelling evidence that cannabis acutely exacerbates psychotic symptoms in CHR, its impact on conversion to a psychotic disorder is unclear (Kapler et al, 2024). Aims: To assess sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of adolescents at CHR and healthy controls (HC), comparing cannabis users (CU) to non-CU and examining transition to psychosis and functional outcome at follow-up. Methods: An 18-month prospective longitudinal study (CAPRIS) in which help-seeking subjects who met CHR criteria were recruited from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology departments of Hospital Clinic and H. Sant Joan de Deu (Barcelona, Spain). At baseline, the SIPS/SOPS, a drug use questionnaire, and other clinical scales were administered. At follow-up, the full assessment was repeated. A sample of age and gender matched HCs was also recruited. Results: At baseline, 203 CHR and 160 HC were included, with 29.1% vs. 20%, respectively, being CU (χ2=3.913, p=0.052). CHR-CU were younger than HC-CU (15.9±1.2 vs.16.4±1.1 years, p=0.046), though no differences were found between groups regarding age when cannabis use began (14.3±1.5 vs 14.7±1.2 years; t=1.197, p=0.235). CHR-CU and HC-CU mostly also used tobacco (89.7 vs. 87.5%) and alcohol (82.5 vs. 93.8%), with no significant differences between the groups. 25.9% of CHR-CU smoked cannabis daily vs 3.2% of HC-CU (χ2=21.195, p=0.002). After the 18-month follow-up, 57.7% of CHR-CU vs. 73.3% of HC-CU continued using cannabis. Among CHR subjects, no significant differences were found regarding transition to a psychotic disorder between baseline CU (29.7%). and non-CU (17.4%, χ2=2.427, p=0.151), even for daily users at baseline (37.5%, χ2=1.285, p=0.368) and continuous use (33.3%, χ2=5.691, p=0.128). Conclusions: Adolescent CU at CHR did not increase their risk of developing a psychotic disorder after an 18-month follow-up, even with daily use. Studies with longer follow-up periods and larger samples are needed to clarify the role of cannabis use in this population. Study supported by grants from the Carlos III Institute of Health, Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria PI11/1349; PI11/02684; PI15/0444 and PI15/00509, PI18/0242, PI1800976, PI210391, PI21009, PI21/00330, PI24/00512 and PI24/00302), and National Drug Plan (2022I053). |