Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2021 Nov 10. doi: 10.1111/acps.13384. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Longitudinal studies examining the association between adolescent cannabis use and self-harm are rare, heterogenous and mixed in their conclusions. We study this association utilizing a large general population-based sample with prospective data.
METHODS: The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (n= 6582) with linkage to nationwide register data was used to study the association of self-reported cannabis use at age 15-16 years and self-harm and suicide death until age 33 (until year 2018), based on register information. Cox-regression analysis with Hazard Ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) was used. Psychiatric disorders, parental psychiatric disorders and other substance use were considered as confounders.
RESULTS: In all, 6582 (49.2 % male) were included in the analysis, and 377 adolescents (5.7%) reported any cannabis use until the age of 15-16 years. Based on register information, 79 (55.7 % male) had visited in health care services due to self-harm, and 22 (90.1 % male) had died by suicide. In crude analyses, adolescent cannabis use was associated with self-harm (HR =3.93; 95 % CI 2.24-6.90). The association between cannabis use and self-harm remained statistically significant after adjusting for sex, psychiatric disorders at baseline, frequent alcohol intoxications, other illicit drug use, and parental psychiatric disorders (HR 2.06; 95 % CI 1.07-3.95). In contrast, the association of cannabis use with suicide did not reach statistical significance even in crude analysis (HR 2.60; 95 % CI 0.77-8.78) CONCLUSION: Cannabis use in adolescence may increase risk of self-harm independent of psychopathology and other substance use.
PMID:34758110 | DOI:10.1111/acps.13384
