Cannabis use and medication nonadherence in bipolar disorder: A nationwide inpatient sample database analysis

Background: Medication nonadherence among bipolar disorder (BD) is often linked with comorbid substance use disorders. This study aims to investigate cannabis use disorder (CUD) association with medication noncompliance in hospitalized BD patients. Methods: : Using data on 266,303 BD hospitalizations between 2010 and 2014 from the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample database, we obtained medication noncompliance rates stratified by demographics and CUD. Logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with medication noncompliance. Results: Overall mean age, the prevalence of CUD, and medication nonadherence were 41.58 (+/- 0.11) years, 15.0% and 16.1%, respectively. There were 56.6% females in the overall population. There was a significant difference in the characteristics of those in the medication nonadherence vs adherence groups, including age, sex, race, comorbid substance use, income, insurance type, hospital region, and hospital teaching status (p < 0.001). After adjusting for other variables using multivariate analysis, there remained a statistically significant association of medication nonadherence in BD hospitalization and CUD (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.36-1.48). Limitation: Confounding multiple substance use could not be accounted for, and the retrospective nature of the database which includes only inpatients is prone to possible selection and reporting bias. Conclusion: CUD statistically predicts increased rates of medication nonadherence among patients with BD. Given the possible association of CUD with medication nonadherence among BD patients, collaborative work between general adult psychiatry and addiction services is imperative in improving the management outcome of patients with BD and comorbid CUD.

Automated summary

This study used data from BD hospitalizations to investigate the association between Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) and medication nonadherence in patients with Bipolar Disorder. The research found a significant relationship between CUD and medication noncompliance among BD patients, highlighting the importance of collaboration between psychiatric and addiction services in improving patient outcomes.