Cannabis and Pregnancy: A Psychiatric, Medical, or General Population Issue?

BACKGROUND: Cannabis use during pregnancy may adversely affect the health of pregnant women and their fetus. Several recent surveys led in the US general population in the last decade showed an increase in cannabis use during pregnancy from 1.95 to 7%, with a 0.5% for medical-only purposes. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to investigate if an increased incidence might be due to a greater public acceptability after introduction of cannabis medical use or due to psychiatric implications and unmet needs. METHOD: 500 pregnant women (302 psychiatric patients and 198 healthy controls) were tested with the Edimburgh Post-Natal Depression Scale, Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventory, and Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV Axis II while substance use disorder was documented with the fulfillment of the DSM-5 criteria. RESULTS: Five percent of the whole sample had a documented addiction to cannabis during pregnancy (all among psychiatric patients and none in the general population). All psychiatric patients with cannabis use disorder were affected by borderline personality disorder, except for 1 patient with cannabis and cocaine use disorders who suffered from adjustment disorder with anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Addiction to cannabis during pregnancy has an increased rate confirming surveys on the general US population but seem entirely linked to psychiatric issues, especially borderline personality disorder. Personality disorders may have been underestimated in surveys in the general population until now because these are usually not assessed.

Estimating the Risk of Attempted Suicide Among Sexual Minority Youths: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance: Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among adolescents. Sexual minority individuals are at a higher risk of suicide and attempted suicide, but a precise and systematic evaluation of this risk among sexual minority youths has not been documented to our knowledge. Objective: To examine the risk of attempted suicide among sexual minority adolescents, differentiating for each sexual minority group. Data Sources: Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO) were searched for articles published through April 30, 2017, with the following search terms: heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, adolescents, teens, and attempted suicide. Study Selection: Studies that reported attempted suicide in sexual minority adolescents compared with heterosexual peers were included. Thirty-five studies satisfied criteria for inclusion of 764 records identified. Data Extraction and Synthesis: Pooled analyses were based on odds ratios (ORs), with relevant 95% CIs, weighting each study with inverse variance models with random effects. Risk of publication bias and analysis of heterogeneity through univariable and multivariable meta-regressions were also rated. Main Outcomes and Measures: The evaluation of increased odds of attempted suicide among sexual minority youths compared with heterosexual peers. Results: Thirty-five studies reported in 22 articles that involved a total of 2 378 987 heterosexual and 113 468 sexual minority adolescents (age range, 12-20 years) were included in the analysis. Sexual minority youths were generally at higher risk of attempted suicide (OR, 3.50; 95% CI, 2.98-4.12; c2 = 3074.01; P < .001; I2 = 99%). If estimated in each sexual minority group, the OR was 3.71 in the homosexual group (95% CI, 3.15-4.37; c2 = 825.20; P < .001; I2 = 97%) and 4.87 in the bisexual group (95% CI, 4.76-4.98; c2 = 980.02; P < .001; I2 = 98%); transgender youths were described as an individual group in only 1 study, which reported an OR of 5.87 (95% CI, 3.51-9.82). Meta-regressions weighted for the study weight highlighted that the presence of young participants (12 years old) was associated with heterogeneity in the bisexual group, whereas the year of sampling was associated with heterogeneity in the whole group when combined with other covariates. Conclusions and Relevance: Our findings suggest that youths with nonheterosexual identity have a significantly higher risk of life-threatening behavior compared with their heterosexual peers. Public awareness is important, and a careful evaluation of supportive strategies (eg, support programs, counseling, and destigmatizing efforts) should be part of education and public health planning.

The burden of personality disorders on the DSM 5 addiction to tobacco during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoking is a major health concern. Many women smoke during their reproductive years, some of them during their pregnancy. Adverse outcomes for the newborns physical health are well recognized, while the influence on their mental health is still under investigation. We aim at demonstrating the contribution of maternal personality disorders in maintaining addiction to tobacco during pregnancy, to underline their role and the need of their detection as a preventive effort. METHOD: 150 women, consecutively admitted to the Perinatal Psychiatric Outpatient Department were tested with the SCID II, CTQ, WHOQOL-BREF, EPDS, BDI and BAI. Tobacco use disorder was attested with the fulfillment of DSM 5 criteria. RESULTS: 46% (n = 69) of the sample was affected by at least one personality disorder ("PD+"). "PD+" showed a significant higher rate of pregnant women addicted to tobacco (p = 0.021). The average number of cigarettes per day was notably distinct, since patients affected by "NPD" smokes twice the amount compared to "PD-" and "other PDs", while those affected by Borderline PD has a halfway consumption (7.20 ±â€¯5.54 vs 3.37 ±â€¯4.62 vs 3 ±â€¯3.39 vs 5.50 ±â€¯4.10). ANOVA and POST HOC showed a significance between "NPD" and "other PDs" (p = 0.035), and "other PDs" has significantly the highest rate of active smokers. CONCLUSION: Personality disorders demonstrate to be a clear contributor in supporting addiction to tobacco during pregnancy. Short and long term health and mental consequences attested in the newborn, encourage awareness in detecting tobacco dependency during this sensitive period. The inclusion of personality evaluation and management in tobacco dependency treatment programs is strictly encouraged to boost their efficiency and increase tobacco abstinence.

Unblending Borderline Personality and Bipolar Disorders.

Borderline Personality (BPD) and Bipolar (BP) disorders stimulate an academic debate between their distinction and the inclusion of Borderline in the Bipolar spectrum. Opponents to this inclusion attribute the important differences and possible diagnostic incomprehension to overlapping symptoms. We tested 248 Borderline and 113 Bipolar patients, consecutively admitted to the Psychiatric Unit, through DSM-IV Axis I and II Disorders (SCID-I/II), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and Borderline Personality Disorder Severity Index-IV (BPDSI-IV). All the tests statistically discriminated the disorders (p < 0.0001). Overlapping symptoms resulted significantly different (impulsivity = 5.32 in BPD vs 1.55 in BP, p < 0.0001; emotional instability = 7.11 in BPD vs 0.55 in BP, p < 0.0001) and the range of their scores gives the opportunity for an even more precise discrimination. Distinctive traits (e.g. irritability or sexual arousal) are also discussed in order to try to qualify the core of these disorders to a higher degree. Comorbidity proves to be extremely small (3.6%). However, Borderline patients with manic features offer a privileged point of view for a deeper analysis. This allows for the possibility of a more precise examination of the nature and load of each symptom. Borderline Personality and Bipolar Disorders can be distinguished with high precision using common and time-sparing tests. The importance of discriminating these clinical features may benefit from this evidence.