1. The cannabis use as a predictor of suicide attempts in bipolar disorder.
- Author
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Zgueb, Y., Chakroun, M., Khaled, D. Ben, Hechmi, S., Ouali, U., and Nacef, F.
- Subjects
ATTEMPTED suicide ,BIPOLAR disorder ,MARIJUANA abuse ,FAMILY history (Medicine) ,SUICIDAL ideation - Abstract
Introduction: Bipolar disorder is a severe mental disorder that implies a high risk of suicide. Cannabis is the most commonly abused drug among patients with bipolar disorder and has been found to increase the duration and the intensity of symptoms. Objectives: The aims of this study was to establish the prevalence of cannabis use and suicide attempts in patients with a type 1 bipolar disorder and to study the association between them. Methods: A cross-sectional and retrospective study of 150 patients. Demographic data and the course of the disease were extracted from patients' medical files. Results: The average age was 35.97±11.55 years. A psychiatric family history was noted in 79 patients (52.7%). Twenty-five patients had psychiatric comorbidities. Eighteen patients had a personality disorder. Thymic episodes was of manic type in 48% of cases and of depressive type in 36 % of cases. The average duration of the disease was 15.95 ± 9.6 years. Therapeutic adherence was good in 44.7% of cases. A history of suicidal ideation was found in 94 patients and suicide attempts was found in 35 patients. Thirteen patients were cannabis users. Suicidal attempts was significantly associated with cannabis use (p=0.013), especially in male patients (p=0.025). Conclusions: Despite some limitations, this study estimate a strong association between cannabis use disorder and suicidal attempts in patients with bipolar disorder. Further studies are needed to clarify the nature of this relationship and that mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020