Prenatal Cannabis Exposure May Increase Risk of Mental Illness in Offspring, Study Suggests

Children of women who used cannabis while they knew they were pregnant may be at greater risk of symptoms of mental illness than children of women who did not use cannabis during pregnancy, according to areport inJAMA Psychiatry. For instance, youth who were exposed to cannabis in the womb were more likely to report more psychotic-like experiences, as well as problems with aggressive behavior, depression, and anxiety than those without such exposure.“[P]regnant women, and even those contemplating pregnancy, should be discouraged from using any cannabis by health care professionals, dispensaries, and others,” wrote Ryan Bogdan, Ph.D., of Washington University in St. Louis and colleagues.Bogdan and colleagues analyzed data from 11,489 children enrolled in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study —an ongoing study tracking the brain development of U.S. children through adolescence. Based on retrospective prenatal cannabis use reported by parents or caregivers of children in the study, the researchers divided the ABCD study participants into three groups: no exposure to cannabis (n=10,834), exposure to cannabis prior to maternal knowledge of pregnancy only (n=413), and exposure to cannabis after maternal knowledge of pregnancy (n=242). The average age of children in the study was 10.The researchers used several validated questionnaires to measure outcomes in children including the Prodromal Questionnaire –Brief Child to assess child-reported psychotic-l...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: ABCD study agression anxiety cannabis depression JAMA Psychiatry pregnancy psychotic-like experiences Source Type: research