Cannabis Use Disorder And Suicide Attempts In Iraq/Afghanistan-Era Veterans

Keywords

Cannabis; Depression; Marijuana; Posttraumatic stress; Substance abuse; Suicidal ideation; Suicide; Suicide attempts

Abstract

The objective of the present research was to examine the association between lifetime cannabis use disorder (CUD), current suicidal ideation, and lifetime history of suicide attempts in a large and diverse sample of Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans (N = 3233) using a battery of well-validated instruments. As expected, CUD was associated with both current suicidal ideation (OR = 1.683, p = 0.008) and lifetime suicide attempts (OR = 2.306, p < 0.0001), even after accounting for the effects of sex, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, alcohol use disorder, non-cannabis drug use disorder, history of childhood sexual abuse, and combat exposure. Thus, the findings from the present study suggest that CUD may be a unique predictor of suicide attempts among Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans; however, a significant limitation of the present study was its cross-sectional design. Prospective research aimed at understanding the complex relationship between CUD, mental health problems, and suicidal behavior among veterans is clearly needed at the present time.

Publication Date

6-1-2017

Publication Title

Journal of Psychiatric Research

Volume

89

Number of Pages

1-5

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.01.002

Socpus ID

85010383291 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85010383291

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