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Marijuana Use Linked with Poor Depression Recovery
J Affect Disord; ePub 2017 Feb 13; Bahorik, et al
Marijuana use is common and associated with poor recovery among psychiatry outpatients with depression, a recent study found. Researchers evaluated 307 psychiatry outpatients with depression who were assessed at baseline, 3-, and 6-months on symptoms (PHQ-9 and GAD-7), functioning (SF-12), and past-month marijuana use for a substance use intervention trial. They found:
- A considerable number of patients (40.7%; n=125) used marijuana within 30 days of baseline.
- Marijuana use decreased over 6 months, but patterns varied by demographic and clinical characteristics.
- Depression symptoms contributed to increased marijuana use over the follow-up, and those aged ≥50 years increased their marijuana use compared to the youngest age group.
- Marijuana use worsened depression and anxiety symptoms; it also led to poorer mental health functioning.
- Medical marijuana (26.8%; n=33) was associated with poorer physical health functioning.
Citation:
Bahorik AL, Leibowitz A, Sterling SA, Travis A, Weisner C, Satre DD. Patterns of marijuana use among psychiatry patients with depression and its impact on recovery. [Published online ahead of print February 13, 2017]. J Affect Disord. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2017.02.016.