Gender difference ‘striking’
Commenting on the findings for this news organization, Charles B. Nemeroff, MD, PhD, professor and chair, department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, said this study is “clearly of great interest; of course correlation and causality are completely distinct entities, and this study is all about correlation.
“This does not, of course, mean that cannabis use causes suicide but suggests that in individuals who use cannabis, suicidality in the broadest sense is increased in prevalence rate,” said Dr. Nemeroff, who serves as principal investigator of the Texas Child Trauma Network.
Dr. Nemeroff said “the most striking finding” was the larger effect in women than men – “striking because suicide is, in almost all cultures, higher in prevalence in men versus women.”
Dr. Nemeroff said he’d like to know more about other potential contributing factors, “which would include a history of child abuse and neglect, a major vulnerability factor for suicidality, comorbid alcohol and other substance abuse, [and] comorbid psychiatric diagnosis such as posttraumatic stress disorder.”
The study was sponsored by NIDA, of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Volkow, Dr. Han, and Dr. Nemeroff have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.