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Psychiatric Symptoms, Salivary Cortisol and Cytokine Levels in Young Marijuana Users

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Abstract

Psychological maturation continues into young adulthood when substance abuse and several psychiatric disorders often emerge. Marijuana is the most common illicit drug abused by youths, typically preceding other illicit substances. We aimed to evaluate the complex and poorly studied relationships between marijuana use, psychiatric symptoms, and cortisol levels in young marijuana users. Psychiatric symptoms and salivary cortisol were measured in 122 youths (13–23 years old) with and without marijuana use. Psychiatric symptoms were evaluated using the Symptom-Checklist-90-R and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Mid-day salivary cortisol levels were measured. Additionally, salivary cytokine levels were measured in a subset of participants. Although the cortisol levels and salivary cytokine levels were similar, the young marijuana users had more self-reported and clinician rated psychiatric symptoms than controls, especially anxiety-associated symptoms. Moreover, marijuana users with earlier age of first use had more symptoms, while those with longer abstinence had fewer symptoms. Greater cumulative lifetime marijuana use was also associated with greater psychiatric symptoms. The discordant anxiety (feeling stressed or anxious despite normal cortisol) in the marijuana users, as well as symptom exacerbations with early and continued marijuana use in young marijuana users suggest that marijuana use may contribute to an aberrant relationship between stress response and psychiatric symptoms. The greater symptomatology, especially in those with earlier initiation and greater marijuana usage, emphasize the need to intervene for substance use and perceived anxiety in this population.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to those who participated in this study. We also thank I. Chin MD and R Gonzales MS for coordinating participant visits and sample analyses, G King PhD for manuscript feedback, and C. Jiang MS for statistical consultation.

Grant Support

This study is jointly supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD): National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2U54 NS039406 (to DA); U54 NS56883 (to L Chang)), National Institute on Drug Abuse (1 K24-DA016170 (to L Chang), K01-DA021203 (to C Cloak)), National Center for Research Resources (G12RR003061 & P20RR11091 (to T Ernst)), the Queen Emma Research Fund (to C Cloak) and the Hawaii Community Foundation Victoria S and Bradley L Geist Foundation (to C Cloak).

Disclosures

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Manoa, 1356 Lusitana St 7th Floor, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA

    Christine C. Cloak, Thomas M. Ernst & Linda Chang

  2. John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hawaii, Manoa, 1356 Lusitana St 4th Floor, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA

    Daniel Alicata

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  1. Christine C. Cloak
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  2. Daniel Alicata
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  3. Thomas M. Ernst
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  4. Linda Chang
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Correspondence to Christine C. Cloak.

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Cloak, C.C., Alicata, D., Ernst, T.M. et al. Psychiatric Symptoms, Salivary Cortisol and Cytokine Levels in Young Marijuana Users. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol 10, 380–390 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11481-015-9606-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11481-015-9606-0

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