Subst Use Misuse. 2021 Jul 15:1-4. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2021.1949615. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The effects of cannabis use in vulnerable persons with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, continues to be elucidated.
METHODS: We compared 55 cannabis-only users (Group 1) with 462 non-substance users (Group 2) on measures of length of stay and number of psychiatric hospitalizations with a primary discharge diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder using the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney non-parametric test for non-normal distributions, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Poisson regression analysis.
RESULTS: Group 1 had a mean length of stay of 6.15 days (sd = 5.32 days) and Group 2 had a mean length of stay of 8.66 days (sd = 11.14 days) (i.e. Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney, p = .0347; log-transformed ANOVA, p = .0203). This difference was no longer statistically significant when controlling for three covariates (p = .1543). Poisson regressions for the mean number of admissions (1.84) were not statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS: Cannabis use may not be a good predictor of length of stay, once covariates are considered, and mean number of hospitalizations in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.
PMID:34263706 | DOI:10.1080/10826084.2021.1949615
