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Associations between adolescent cannabis use and neuropsychological decline: a longitudinal co-twin control study.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Meier, MH; Caspi, A; Danese, A; Fisher, HL; Houts, R; Arseneault, L; Moffitt, TE
Published in: Addiction (Abingdon, England)
February 2018

This study tested whether adolescents who used cannabis or met criteria for cannabis dependence showed neuropsychological impairment prior to cannabis initiation and neuropsychological decline from before to after cannabis initiation.A longitudinal co-twin control study.Participants were 1989 twins from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative birth cohort of twins born in England and Wales from 1994 to 1995.Frequency of cannabis use and cannabis dependence were assessed at age 18. Intelligence quotient (IQ) was obtained at ages 5, 12 and 18. Executive functions were assessed at age 18.Compared with adolescents who did not use cannabis, adolescents who used cannabis had lower IQ in childhood prior to cannabis initiation and lower IQ at age 18, but there was little evidence that cannabis use was associated with IQ decline from ages 12-18. For example, adolescents with cannabis dependence had age 12 and age 18 IQ scores that were 5.61 (t = -3.11, P = 0.002) and 7.34 IQ points (t = -5.27, P < 0.001) lower than adolescents without cannabis dependence, but adolescents with cannabis dependence did not show greater IQ decline from age 12-18 (t = -1.27, P = 0.20). Moreover, adolescents who used cannabis had poorer executive functions at age 18 than adolescents who did not use cannabis, but these associations were generally not apparent within twin pairs. For example, twins who used cannabis more frequently than their co-twin performed similarly to their co-twin on five of six executive function tests (Ps > 0.10). The one exception was that twins who used cannabis more frequently than their co-twin performed worse on one working memory test (Spatial Span reversed; β = -0.07, P = 0.036).Short-term cannabis use in adolescence does not appear to cause IQ decline or impair executive functions, even when cannabis use reaches the level of dependence. Family background factors explain why adolescent cannabis users perform worse on IQ and executive function tests.

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Published In

Addiction (Abingdon, England)

DOI

EISSN

1360-0443

ISSN

0965-2140

Publication Date

February 2018

Volume

113

Issue

2

Start / End Page

257 / 265

Related Subject Headings

  • Wales
  • Twins
  • Substance Abuse
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Marijuana Smoking
  • Marijuana Abuse
  • Male
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Intelligence
  • Humans
 

Citation

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Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Meier, M. H., Caspi, A., Danese, A., Fisher, H. L., Houts, R., Arseneault, L., & Moffitt, T. E. (2018). Associations between adolescent cannabis use and neuropsychological decline: a longitudinal co-twin control study. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 113(2), 257–265. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13946
Meier, Madeline H., Avshalom Caspi, Andrea Danese, Helen L. Fisher, Renate Houts, Louise Arseneault, and Terrie E. Moffitt. “Associations between adolescent cannabis use and neuropsychological decline: a longitudinal co-twin control study.Addiction (Abingdon, England) 113, no. 2 (February 2018): 257–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13946.
Meier MH, Caspi A, Danese A, Fisher HL, Houts R, Arseneault L, et al. Associations between adolescent cannabis use and neuropsychological decline: a longitudinal co-twin control study. Addiction (Abingdon, England). 2018 Feb;113(2):257–65.
Meier, Madeline H., et al. “Associations between adolescent cannabis use and neuropsychological decline: a longitudinal co-twin control study.Addiction (Abingdon, England), vol. 113, no. 2, Feb. 2018, pp. 257–65. Epmc, doi:10.1111/add.13946.
Meier MH, Caspi A, Danese A, Fisher HL, Houts R, Arseneault L, Moffitt TE. Associations between adolescent cannabis use and neuropsychological decline: a longitudinal co-twin control study. Addiction (Abingdon, England). 2018 Feb;113(2):257–265.
Journal cover image

Published In

Addiction (Abingdon, England)

DOI

EISSN

1360-0443

ISSN

0965-2140

Publication Date

February 2018

Volume

113

Issue

2

Start / End Page

257 / 265

Related Subject Headings

  • Wales
  • Twins
  • Substance Abuse
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Marijuana Smoking
  • Marijuana Abuse
  • Male
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Intelligence
  • Humans