A new study involving over 2,000 participants has find an association between genetical risk factors for schizophrenia and cannabis utilisation , propose that the genes predisposing individuals to this psychiatric disorder may also increase the likeliness of cannabis use . The study has been published inMolecular Psychiatry .
Schizophreniais a mental sickness characterise by disturbance in thoughts , percept and behavior . During a schizophrenic instalment , the individual may have ocular or auditory hallucinations or book irrational beliefs . It is estimated that around 1 in 100 people will experience an instalment of schizophrenia in their lifetime .
Anassociationbetween cannabis use of goods and services and this particular upset has long been observed ; cannabis use is significantly high in individuals with schizophrenia when compared with the residue of the population and ganja users are almost doubly as likely to modernize the disorder . However , given that correlation can not incriminate causation it has been difficult to recognise whether cannabis use instantly raise the risk of psychosis .
“ Studies have systematically shown a link between cannabis use and schizophrenia , ” said tether author Robert Power in anews - freeing . “ We wanted to explore whether this is because of a unmediated cause and consequence , or whether there may be shared factor which predispose individual to both cannabis use and schizophrenic disorder . ”
Although the underlying cause of schizophrenic psychosis persist to be discovered , it is thought that a compounding of genetic , psychological and environmental factors increases the likeliness of developing the disorderliness . A number of gene have been entail in dementia praecox , but could these same genes also increase the risk of cannabis use ?
To gain some solvent , King ’s College London researchers taste 2,082 sizable individuals , 1,011 of whom had used cannabis . They found a important connection between the onus of schizophrenic disorder peril gene and marihuana use .
Power explainsthat while this finding can not govern out the opening that cannabis use increase the endangerment of schizophrenia , it propose that there is potential an association in the other focusing as well . In other words , this genetic pre - disposition to schizophrenic disorder also increase the likeliness that the individual will use marihuana .
“ Our study highlights the complex interactions between genes and environment when we talk about cannabis as a risk divisor for schizophrenia,”adds Power . While we can speculate possible interpretation of the results , given that we are deal with a correlation the report can not inform us whether cannabis usance increases the risk of schizophrenia or vice versa . What the study does suggest , however , is that cannabis use and schizophrenic disorder may partake in common genes , which is a very interesting determination .
