Marijuana and Schizophrenia?

The AHA! Team — Fri, 31 May 2024 05:31:56 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – The evidence linking cannabis use to psychotic disorders is considered strong enough to warrant a public health warning. “Even as proponents of [cannabis] legalization contend that smoked marijuana is a harmless natural substance that improves the quality of life, a growing body of evidence links it in a small but significant number of users to…the induction or aggravation of psychosis.” “Psychotic disorders are arguably the most serious of mental illnesses, the best known being schizophrenia.” “Schizophrenia, an illness that is characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and odd behavior, is among the top 10 leading causes of disability in the United States. It affects approximately 1% of the general population.” Can cannabis cause it? Schizophrenia… affects approximately 1% of the general population As I discuss in my video Does Marijuana Cause Schizophrenia?, over the last half-century, “nearly 2,000 studies have been published on this topic…and the pro-psychotic effects of cannabis have dominated media reporting about this drug. But how clear is the link?” Population studies have “consistently demonstrated a strong, positive, and dose-dependent association between cannabis use and the risk of psychotic disorders.” Indeed, studies have shown that the more cannabis people use, the more likely they are to be psychotic, as seen in a chart below and at 1:10 in my video. However, that doesn’t mean cannabis is the cause. It could just be a correlation or even a consequence of the disease. “The link between cannabis and psychosis is well established,” but it may be the case that patients with mental health problems self-medicate and “use cannabis to relieve their distress.” The link between cannabis and psychosis is well established… As you can see below and at 1:38 in my video, there isn’t only a link between cannabis and psychosis in snapshot-in-time cross-sectional studies, but in cohort studies as well, where people are followed over time. Research has shown that cannabis use often precedes psychosis, not the other way around. Now, it goes without saying that “the vast majority of people who use cannabis do not develop psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, and many people diagnosed with such disorders have never used cannabis.” But, overall, these studies are considered to be “strong enough evidence to warrant a public health message that cannabis use can increase the risk of psychotic disorders.” There is another potential explanation: Even though cannabis use precedes schizophrenia, could it be that whichever genes drive schizophrenia also make it more likely you start smoking pot? The biggest strike against the cannabis-schizophrenia link is country-by-country ecological studies that don’t seem to show more disease in areas where there’s more use. And, overall, schizophrenia rates seem to have remained stable or even gone down worldwide since the 1960s, even though there’s been a big bump in cannabis use since then. If about 10 percent of schizophrenia cases are attributable to marijuana use and there’s been a fourfold increase in use, why hasn’t there been a 40 percent increase in the prevalence of schizophrenia? The problem with that argument is “there is little reliable evidence on the temporal [true] trends in the incidence of schizophrenia, so it is difficult to know whether this statement is true or not.” Perhaps it’s more of an issue with potency rather than just cannabis in general. Indeed, “the incidence of schizophrenia is higher in countries…where high-potency cannabis has taken over the market compared with countries…where more traditional forms of cannabis are smoked.” The bottom line is you don’t know until you put it to the test. You can’t just randomize kids to cannabis, but, in a way, Nature set up a natural experiment for us. There are genes that kids randomly get that can increase their likelihood of smoking pot. Do those kids then go on to have a higher risk of schizophrenia? Yes, research “findings strongly support” all of those population studies that suggest “cannabis plays a causal [cause-and-effect] role in the development of schizophrenia.” Okay, but by how much? Let’s break it down. Even if cannabis use doubles the risk, that would mean only going from a 7-in-1,000 chance of developing a psychosis to 14 in 1,000. So, going from a 1 in 140 chance to a 1 in 70 chance. It would be different if schizophrenia runs in your family, where a doubling of risk could mean going from a one-in-ten chance to one in five, but, on a population scale, it could take thousands of cannabis users quitting to prevent a single case of schizophrenia. So, from a public health standpoint, “addiction is a far more common problem.” Researchers “estimate that people who try cannabis are ninefold more likely to become addicted to it”—even though that itself is relatively rare—“than to develop psychosis in their lifetime.” I have an entire series of videos on cannabis, which I originally released in a webinar and downloadable digital DVD. Key Takeaways Although some proponents of cannabis legalization argue that marijuana is a “harmless natural substance that improves the quality of life,” it has been linked “in a small but significant number of users to…the induction or aggravation of psychosis.” Schizophrenia, a psychotic disorder characterized by hallucinations, odd behavior, and delusions, affects about 1 percent of the general population. Studies have found that the more cannabis people use, the more likely they are to be psychotic, but that could just be a correlation or even a consequence of the disease. Individuals with mental health problems may self-medicate and use cannabis to relieve distress, for example. Research has found that cannabis use often precedes psychosis, not the other way around. Overall, there appears to be “strong enough evidence to warrant a public health message that cannabis use can increase the risk of psychotic disorders.” There does not seem to be more disease in regions with greater cannabis use. Overall, schizophrenia rates appear to have remained stable or even declined worldwide since the 1960s, despite a large jump in cannabis use since then. Potency may be a bigger issue. In countries with higher potency cannabis, the incidence of schizophrenia is higher than in countries with “more traditional forms.” Some genes can increase our likelihood of using cannabis, and kids who randomly get them have been found to have a higher risk of schizophrenia. Research suggests that cannabis may have a cause-and-effect role in the development of that psychosis. Even if cannabis use doubles the risk, however, that would just mean a 1-in-70 chance of developing a psychosis without a family history of schizophrenia. From a public health standard, the far more common problem is addiction. To read the original article click here.

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Air Pollution Linked to Dementia in YOUNG Brains, Under 30 years of Age

AHA Publisher — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 07:00:59 +0000

Damon Hines via NaturalHealth365 – Giovanni Papini famously said, “Breathing is the greatest pleasure in life.” But that’s clearly not the case when there’s an abundance of air pollution, and when each subsequent breath can increase the potential risk of lung disease, fertility problems and, even dementia. Today, air pollution is widely considered a public health emergency. For example, according to the World Health Organization, more than 90% of the global population lives with toxic and unsafe air, with air pollution accounting for 8.8 million early deaths a year. If that statistic isn’t bad enough, a report from Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air found that burning gas, coal, and oil causes three times the number of deaths as traffic accidents. Comprehensive analysis now suggests that air pollution may damage “every organ in the body.” Plus, believe it or not, a recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Research links air pollution particles in young brain’s to dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Be Careful: Chronic Exposure to Air Pollution Shown to INCREASE the Risk of Neurodegenerative Diseases According to the study, which was led by Lilian Calderon-Garciduena at the University of Montana, children and young adults living in Mexico City – a sprawling, urban center with a major air pollution issue – already show growths, plaques, and tangles associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Researchers found an alarming amount of nanoparticles in the brainstems of 186 young people, ages 11 month to 27 years – which are believed to have reached the brain after being inhaled into the lungs (first) and deposited into the bloodstream. More research is needed to determine whether or not these growths, plagues, and tangles cause the neurological diseases later in life. However, the nanoparticle pollutants were found in the substantia nigra, which is the area of the brain that is crucial to the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, the aberrant proteins were not present in the brains of age-matched people from less polluted areas. A previous study, published in The Lancet, found that roughly one in 10 cases of Alzheimer’s in urban areas could be associated with living amid heavy traffic, and while that study stopped short of showing that exposure to exhaust and air pollution causes neurodegeneration, the groundbreaking research in Mexico City illustrates the physical mechanism by which the damage is done. How to Protect Yourself From Dirty Air Critical action is needed to improve air quality, and politicians and policymakers need to begin to address how to reduce exposure to air pollution. Improving emission standards for cars, trucks, heavy trucks, and power plants could help. But is it enough? No, not by a long shot, especially in crowded megacities such as Jakarta, New Deli, Beijing, Los Angeles and Mexico City, where air pollution levels are at a rate the most people find difficult to tolerate. Still, there are several significant ways to reduce your exposure to dirty air. Consider taking the following steps: Purchase a good quality, air purifier for your home (and workplace) Eliminate the use of toxic household or personal care products Reduce indoor fireplace usage (especially if the chimney is in poor condition) Minimize your travel on heavily trafficked roads Watch out for “third hand smoke” Have lots of cleansing plants in your home like, bamboo palms and peace lilies And, be sure to open your windows, as often as possible Sources for this article include: Theguardian.com To read the original article click here. For more articles from NaturalHealth365 click here.

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Marijuana and Schizophrenia?

Air Pollution Linked to Dementia in YOUNG Brains, Under 30 years of Age