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Heavy cannabis use impairs verbal memory of first psychotic episode patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2020

C. Nuñez ,
S. Ochoa ,
E. Huerta-Ramos ,
I. Baños ,
A. Barajas ,
M. Dolz ,
B. Sanchez ,
N. Del Cacho ,
G. Genipe  and
J. Usall
C. Nuñez
Affiliation:
Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, Research Unit, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
S. Ochoa
Affiliation:
Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, Research Unit, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
E. Huerta-Ramos
Affiliation:
Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu, CIBERSAM, Research Unit, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
I. Baños
Affiliation:
Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, Research Unit, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
A. Barajas
Affiliation:
Centre d’ Higiene Mental Les Corts, Research Unit, Barcelona, Spain
M. Dolz
Affiliation:
Hospital Materno Infantil Sant Joan de Déu- Esplugues, Psychiatry Department, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
B. Sanchez
Affiliation:
Hospital Materno Infantil Sant Joan de Déu, Psychiatry Department, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
N. Del Cacho
Affiliation:
Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Research Unit, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
G. Genipe
Affiliation:
Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Psychiatry Research, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
J. Usall*
Affiliation:
Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Research Unit, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Cannabis consumption is known to be increased in both schizophrenic and first psychotic episode patients. Contrary to what has been reported in studies with healthy people, all published studies so far have reported no impairments or even beneficial effects on neurocognition associated with cannabis consumption in schizophrenia and first psychotic episode patients. However, these studies did not address the effects of very high cannabis consumption.

Objective

Our aim in this study was to assess the effects on neurocognition of regular and heavy cannabis consumption in first psychotic episode patients.

Methods

A total of 74 patients were included in the study and assigned to 3 different groups according to their mean cannabis consumption during the last year (non-users, regular users, and heavy users). Participants were administered verbal memory, attention, processing speed, working memory, vocabulary, arithmetic and spatial orientation tasks.

Results

Our results showed the heavy cannabis group of first psychotic episode patients to be significantly impaired in all the verbal memory measures with respect to the non-users group. There were no significant differences between regular users and non-users. Moreover, regular cannabis consumption was associated with an improvement in some attention and processing speed measures.

Conclusions

Our data showed heavy cannabis consumption to impair verbal memory in first psychotic episode patients and suggest a dose-related effect of cannabis consumption, since regular consumption did not impair verbal memory and may be beneficial for other tasks.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Type
EV1039
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 33 , Issue S1: Abstracts of the 24th European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2016 , pp. S548
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2016
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