title: Cannabis use and mental health-related quality of life among individuals with depressive disorders.
abstract: Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance among individuals with depressive disorders. This study aimed to evaluate whether among individuals with depressive disorders, higher frequency of cannabis use would be associated with poorer Quality of Life (QoL), based on a large nationally representative US sample. Individuals with depressive disorders (N=3416) were divided into categories according to no use (N=3096), occasional use (less than weekly, N=176) and regular (at least weekly, N=144) use of cannabis in the past 12 months. QoL was assessed using the Short-Form 12 (SF-12) questionnaire. Women who used cannabis regularly had a significantly lower SF-12 Mental Component Summary score (MCS) compared to non-users, with a mean difference of 0.4 Standard Deviations (SDs). Comparison of subscale scores showed no significant differences. No significant difference was noted when comparing women who used cannabis occasionally to non-users. No differences were found among men when comparing MCS and mental subscale scores of both regular and occasional users to non-users. Our findings highlight the importance of taking gender and the frequency of cannabis use into account, when assessing functional and emotional aspects of cannabis use among individuals with depressive disorders.
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Itay
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Aspis
authors.affiliation: Addiction Medicine and Dual Diagnosis Services, Department of Psychiatry, Sheba, Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel; Department of Psychiatry, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel; Ariel University, Israel.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feingold
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Department of Psychiatry, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiser
authors.affiliation: Social and Epidemiological Research Department, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Technische Universität Dresden, Klinische Psychologie & Psychotherapie, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Jurgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rehm
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.
authors.forename: Gal
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shoval
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Addiction Medicine and Dual Diagnosis Services, Department of Psychiatry, Sheba, Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel; Social and Epidemiological Research Department, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Shaul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lev-Ran
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002188:Cannabis; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cannabis; Depressive disorders; Dysthymia; Major depressive disorder; Quality of Life