Cannabis use disorder on the rise among veterans with psychiatric disorders
Research published today in The American Journal of Psychiatry finds that during a period of increasing cannabis use in the U.S., the prevalence of cannabis use disorder is disproportionally increasing among veterans with psychiatric disorders, especially those with more severe psychiatric disorders.
The research team, led by Ofir Livne, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of clinical psychiatry, Columbia University / New York State Psychiatric Institute, used Veterans Health Administration (VHA) electronic health records over two periods (2005-2014 and 2016-2019) to identify trends in cannabis use disorder among patients with and without psychiatric disorders. They looked at data on veterans with depressive, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar and psychotic spectrum disorders compared to veterans without mental health disorders.
According to the research, cannabis use disorder more than doubled among all VHA patients from 2005-2019 and there were greater increases in cannabis use disorder diagnoses in veterans with psychiatric disorders compared to those without. The greatest increases were seen among those with bipolar and psychotic-spectrum disorders.
Increases in cannabis use disorder prevalence were also disproportionately higher among younger veterans (under 35 years old) between 2205 and 2014; and older veterans (over 64 years old) between 2016 and 2019.
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