Journal
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY-REVUE CANADIENNE DE PSYCHIATRIE
Volume 66, Issue 2, Pages 126-138Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.1177/0706743720952251
Keywords
cannabis use disorders; cohort study; anxiety; systematic reviews; meta-analysis
Categories
Funding
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
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The study found a significant association between cannabis use and the development of any anxiety conditions, but not with specific disorders like generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or social anxiety disorder. Other studies suggested a link between cannabis use and increased rates/severity of anxiety symptoms.
Objectives: Cannabis use is proposed as a risk factor for psychosis and is associated with depressive disorders. However, the relationship between recreational cannabis use and its longitudinal implications on anxiety conditions is less studied. The aim of this investigation is to systematically evaluate published literature and perform a meta-analysis of the data. Methods: A systematic search was performed of MEDLINE, Embase, and PsychINFO from inception to May 31, 2020, in addition to a hand search. Longitudinal studies that evaluated the relationship of cannabis use and development of anxiety were included. Where applicable, adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were extracted, pooled, and evaluated using random-effects meta-analysis. Results: After screening of unique abstracts (n= 6835), the final evaluation included 24 studies, of which 10 reportedORs that were analyzed quantitatively. Cannabis use was significantly associated with increased odds of developing any anxiety conditions (OR= 1.25; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.54). Cannabis use was not significantly associated with developing generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or social anxiety disorder. Review of studies not reportingORrevealed mixed results but are suggestive of a link between cannabis use and increased rates/severity of anxiety. Conclusions: Published evidence suggests that cannabis use is likely associated with increased risk of anxiety in the long term but variability of study designs precludes declaration of a causal relationship. Awareness of this association is of relevance for both clinical practice and mental health policy implementation.
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