Prevalence of cannabis use in people with psychosis in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

South African Journal of Psychiatry

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Prevalence of cannabis use in people with psychosis in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
 
Creator Mona, Khanya Ntlantsana, Vuyokazi Tomita, Andrew M. Paruk, Saeeda
 
Subject Psychiatry schizophrenia spectrum disorder; psychotic disorders; cannabis use; South Africa; alcohol use.
Description Background: There is a high prevalence of cannabis use in patients with schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, with comorbid cannabis use in this population being associated with poorer long-term outcomes.Aim: To determine the prevalence of cannabis use in patients with a schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders.Setting: The study was conducted at a psychiatric hospital in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.Methods: A review of clinical records of patients admitted to the hospital for the period, June 2018 to June 2020, was conducted.Results: A total of 370 clinical records were reviewed, of which 48.9% reported current and 51.1% lifetime cannabis use. Being male was significantly associated with current and lifetime cannabis use (OR = 4.90, 95% CI 2.49–9.62 and OR = 6.27, 95% CI 3.28–11.95, respectively). Current alcohol use was also associated with current cannabis use (CCU) (OR = 3.06, 95% CI 1.78–5.28), and age 45 years and older was associated with a lower odds of cannabis use (OR = 0.30, 95% CI 0.09–0.96). Forty-eight per cent of participants were admitted three or more times, and readmission was associated with cannabis use (p = 0.01). There was a lack of association between cannabis use, readmission and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, after controlling for variables such as alcohol use and gender.Conclusion: Almost 50% of people admitted with schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders have comorbid current and lifetime cannabis use. There is a need for dual diagnosis units to address comorbid substance use in people with psychotic disorders, as it leads to poorer outcomes.Contribution: The study found that there is a high prevalence of cannabis use in people with psychosis. Therefore, it is imperative that we revise treatment programs in our psychiatric units and there is an urgent need for dual diagnosis programs that address substance use in this group of patients.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor A.T was supported by the South African Medical research Council (MRCP-RFAUFSP-01-2013/UKZN HIVEPI) S.P. was supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant numbers:117858), South African Research Council SIR Agent
Date 2022-10-21
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Retrospective chart review
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v28i0.1927
 
Source South African Journal of Psychiatry; Vol 28 (2022); 8 pages 2078-6786 1608-9685
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1927/2724 https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1927/2725 https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1927/2726 https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1927/2727
 
Coverage KwaZulu Natal; South Africa June 2018-June 2020 13 year old and older, inpatients, schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders
Rights Copyright (c) 2022 Khanya Mona, Vuyokazi Ntlantsana, Andrew M. Tomita, Saeeda Paruk https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ADVERTISEMENT