TY - JOUR
T1 - Duration of Untreated Disorder and Cannabis Use: An Observational Study on a Cohort of Young Italian Patients Experiencing Psychotic Experiences and Dissociative Symptoms
AU - Ricci, Valerio
AU - Martinotti, Giovanni
AU - Ceci, Franca
AU - Chiappini, Stefania
AU - Di Carlo, Francesco
AU - Burkauskas, Julius
AU - Susini, Ottavia
AU - Luciani, Debora
AU - Quattrone, Diego
AU - De Berardis, Domenico
AU - Pettorruso, Mauro
AU - Maina, Giuseppe
AU - Di Giannantonio, Massimo
N1 - © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
PY - 2021/11/30
Y1 - 2021/11/30
N2 - Background: The Duration of Untreated Psychosis (DUP) is the time between the first-episode psychosis (FEP) and the initiation of antipsychotic treatment. It is an important predictor of several disease-related outcomes in psychotic disorders. The aim of this manuscript is investigating the influence of cannabis on the DUP and its clinical correlates. Methods: During years 2014−2019, sixty-two FEP patients with and without cannabis use disorder (CUD) were recruited from several Italian psychiatric hospitals. The subjects were then divided into two groups based on the duration of the DUP and assessed at the beginning of the antipsychotic treatment and after 3 and 6 months, using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale, and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-II). Results: As expected, a longer DUP was associated with worse symptoms and cannabis use did not seem to affect the DUP, but both were related with more dissociative symptoms at onset and over time. Discussion: According to our study, cannabis use can be a predictor of FEP and DUP, and of disease outcome. However, several factors might influence the relationship between cannabis use and DUP. Preventing cannabis use and early diagnosis of psychotic disorders might impact the disease by reducing the persistence of symptoms and limiting dissociative experiences.
AB - Background: The Duration of Untreated Psychosis (DUP) is the time between the first-episode psychosis (FEP) and the initiation of antipsychotic treatment. It is an important predictor of several disease-related outcomes in psychotic disorders. The aim of this manuscript is investigating the influence of cannabis on the DUP and its clinical correlates. Methods: During years 2014−2019, sixty-two FEP patients with and without cannabis use disorder (CUD) were recruited from several Italian psychiatric hospitals. The subjects were then divided into two groups based on the duration of the DUP and assessed at the beginning of the antipsychotic treatment and after 3 and 6 months, using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale, and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-II). Results: As expected, a longer DUP was associated with worse symptoms and cannabis use did not seem to affect the DUP, but both were related with more dissociative symptoms at onset and over time. Discussion: According to our study, cannabis use can be a predictor of FEP and DUP, and of disease outcome. However, several factors might influence the relationship between cannabis use and DUP. Preventing cannabis use and early diagnosis of psychotic disorders might impact the disease by reducing the persistence of symptoms and limiting dissociative experiences.
KW - DUP
KW - cannabis
KW - dissociation
KW - first-episode psychosis
KW - schizophrenia
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph182312632
DO - 10.3390/ijerph182312632
M3 - Article
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH)
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH)
IS - 23
M1 - 12632
ER -