Matthew J Johnson1, John D Pierce1, Shahrzad Mavandadi2, Johanna Klaus2, Diana Defelice2, Erin Ingram2, David W Oslin3. 1. Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 2. Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center and Center of Excellence for Substance Abuse Treatment and Evaluation, USA. 3. Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center and Center of Excellence for Substance Abuse Treatment and Evaluation, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address: oslin@upenn.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disabling illness suffered by many Veterans returning from war. Some Veterans believe that cannabis may be therapeutic for PTSD. The purpose of this study was to better understand the association between cannabis use and PTSD symptoms. METHODS: The study was a matched case-control cross-sectional evaluation of the psychiatric and sociocultural associations of cannabis use in Veterans with probable PTSD. Patient self-report measures were examined comparing cannabis users (cases) to non-users (controls) who were case-matched on age and gender. RESULTS: Results indicated that there were no significant differences between cases and controls in mean PTSD Checklist-Civilian version (PCL-C) scores (59.2 and 59.1, respectively). There was also no association between PTSD scores and frequency of cannabis use. It was also observed that cases were more likely to be non-Caucasian, financially challenged, and unmarried. LIMITATIONS: The sample is a convenience sample of Veterans being referred for a clinical assessment and therefore, sampling biases may limit the generalizability of the results to other populations including Veterans not seeking health care in the Veterans Affairs (VA) system. CONCLUSIONS: The results do not support the theory that cannabis use would be associated with less severe PTSD symptoms. Results do suggest important sociocultural differences in cannabis users compared to controls. Published by Elsevier B.V.
BACKGROUND:Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disabling illness suffered by many Veterans returning from war. Some Veterans believe that cannabis may be therapeutic for PTSD. The purpose of this study was to better understand the association between cannabis use and PTSD symptoms. METHODS: The study was a matched case-control cross-sectional evaluation of the psychiatric and sociocultural associations of cannabis use in Veterans with probable PTSD. Patient self-report measures were examined comparing cannabis users (cases) to non-users (controls) who were case-matched on age and gender. RESULTS: Results indicated that there were no significant differences between cases and controls in mean PTSD Checklist-Civilian version (PCL-C) scores (59.2 and 59.1, respectively). There was also no association between PTSD scores and frequency of cannabis use. It was also observed that cases were more likely to be non-Caucasian, financially challenged, and unmarried. LIMITATIONS: The sample is a convenience sample of Veterans being referred for a clinical assessment and therefore, sampling biases may limit the generalizability of the results to other populations including Veterans not seeking health care in the Veterans Affairs (VA) system. CONCLUSIONS: The results do not support the theory that cannabis use would be associated with less severe PTSD symptoms. Results do suggest important sociocultural differences in cannabis users compared to controls. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Authors: Han Zhang; Michael Xie; Stuart D Archibald; B Stanley Jackson; Michael K Gupta Journal: JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg Date: 2018-11-01 Impact factor: 6.223