Substance Use Among Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Reasons for Use, Knowledge of Risks, and Provider Messaging/Education

Cannabis use in Attention - Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Treatments for Adult ADHD include stimulants, two non-stimulant medications, as well as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). These pharmacological agents are often associated with side effects, contributing to poor treatment adherence. Patients with ADHD have regularly stated that cannabis has helped improve their ADHD symptoms; however, scientific literature describing the effects of cannabis on symptoms of ADHD is scarce.

METHODS

We systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, EMCARE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Clinicaltrials.gov. The searches included all publications in English up to June 27, 2022. We included both experimental and observational studies that assessed the effect of cannabis on ADHD symptomatology and neuropsychiatric outcomes. To synthesize our current understanding of the potential effects of cannabis use on ADHD symptoms and pathophysiology, and the effects of ADHD on cannabis use, data was extracted from each study regarding the characteristics of its population, methods used to assess both cannabis consumption and ADHD symptoms, and key findings.

RESULTS

Our scoping review included a total of 39 studies. Only one study employed a randomized and placebo-controlled design to directly measure the effect of cannabis on ADHD, and no significant effect was observed for the study's primary outcome, the QbTest (Est = -0.17, 95% CI -0.40 to 0.07, p = 0.16). Most of the literature consists of cross-sectional studies that evaluate the association between ADHD severity and cannabis use. 15 studies addressed the neuropsychiatric effects of cannabis on ADHD by employing either a battery of neuropsychiatric tests or neuroimaging. The concentration and amount of THC and CBD used were not well measured in most of the studies. Although some studies indicated that cannabis improved ADHD symptoms, most studies indicated it worsened or had no effect on ADHD symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the current evidence, cannabis is not recommended for people with ADHD. Limitations of the literature include the absence of objective measurements for cannabis exposure and ADHD symptoms, heterogenous definitions, oversampling, and small sample sizes.

Pediatric Subspecialist Alcohol Screening Rates and Concerns About Alcohol and Cannabis Use Among Their Adolescent Patients

PURPOSE

Pediatric specialty care provides an opportunity to screen for and address patient substance use; however, little is known about providers' screening rates, their opinions regarding substance use harms, or the potential marijuana to be used as a medication.

METHODS

We surveyed national convenience samples of pediatric endocrinologists (N = 142) and rheumatologists (N = 83) and used descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression to examine alcohol screening rates, barriers, and for medical use of marijuana, differences between subspecialist concerns.

RESULTS

In all, 36.4% of providers reported screening adolescent patients annually or more, and a majority expressed concerns about impacts on disease management (80.0%/80.0%) and symptom management (69.3%/53.3%) from alcohol and marijuana, respectively. Nearly equal proportions disagreed (30.2%), were neutral (34.7%), or agreed (35.1%) that some patients would benefit from medical marijuana, although majorities were not comfortable recommending marijuana (62.7%) and did not believe marijuana is standardized enough to be used as medication (57.8%).

DISCUSSION

Fewer than half of the subspecialists in our study routinely screen their adolescent patients for substance use, although many have concerns regarding the impacts of alcohol and marijuana use on their patients. Education and training on best practice could help to increase screening rates. There is agreement that marijuana is not standardized enough to be used as a medication. There is also a broad range of opinions regarding the pharmaceutical potential of marijuana and concerns about the impact of marijuana on underlying chronic medical conditions, which should be considered as marijuana policy continues to evolve.

Parental Perceptions About Alcohol Use for Their Adolescent with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

OBJECTIVE

Alcohol use can worsen attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, interfere with treatment, and worsen outcomes. Our objective was to describe parental perceptions of alcohol use for their adolescents with ADHD.

METHODS

Parents of adolescents with ADHD completed an online survey about perceptions of adolescent alcohol use for adolescents with ADHD. We described the level of parental concern about the impacts of alcohol use on their adolescent's functioning. We assessed whether specific covariates were associated with the level of parental concern.

RESULTS

Of 290 parents who completed the survey, 96.5% were women, and 66.1% had an educational attainment of college degree or higher. Most adolescents (75.4%) took ADHD medication, and 59.9% had comorbid anxiety or depression. Almost one-third (30.3%) of parents perceived that their adolescent was more likely to use alcohol because of ADHD, whereas 34.8% of parents disagreed with this and 34.8% of parents were neutral. Parents who suspected their adolescent regularly used alcohol were less likely to report concern about the impact of alcohol on their adolescent's school performance or ADHD medication effectiveness compared with parents who did not suspect regular adolescent alcohol use. Almost half of the parents (48.5%) did not report discussing the impact of alcohol use on ADHD with their adolescent.

CONCLUSION

Many parents of adolescents with ADHD do not understand the unique risks of alcohol use for their adolescents. In addition, if alcohol use harm is not obvious, parents may not perceive there to be concerns about alcohol use on functioning. Parental education about alcohol use and ADHD is needed.

Alcohol Use Behaviors and Reasons to Abstain From or Limit Drinking Among Medically Vulnerable Youth

BACKGROUND

Youth with chronic medical conditions (YCMC) use alcohol at levels similar to their healthy peers but face elevated risk for adverse health consequences. As salient reasons to abstain from or limit drinking (RALD) among YCMC are unknown, we sought to identify clusters of RALD and test associations with use behaviors.

METHODS

Eligible YCMC (ages 9-18) recruited from outpatient clinics reported their use behaviors and importance of potential RALD. Cluster analysis was used to discern RALD patterns, which were examined as predictors of alcohol use using multivariate regression.

RESULTS

Among 398 participants, 30.9% reported past year alcohol use. Concerns about impacts on medications, school, and disease status were the most frequently endorsed RALD; prior negative experiences with alcohol and family history were the least frequently endorsed. Five RALD clusters were identified for all YCMC and 2 for recent drinkers. Compared to the cluster with high endorsement of multiple general and health-related RALD, those predominantly citing concerns about addiction and those not strongly endorsing any RALD consistently reported greater alcohol use. Among recent drinkers, the cluster characterized by low concern across multiple RALD also consistently reported greater alcohol use compared to their counterparts expressing moderate concern.

CONCLUSIONS

For YCMC, RALD are complex but endorsement of multiple general and health-related RALD is associated with less use, and health concerns are especially prevalent. More research is needed to understand how salient RALD can inform tailored interventions that aim to delay and reduce substance use and improve health outcomes for YCMC.

Neurodevelopmental Effects of Cannabis Use in Adolescents and Emerging Adults with ADHD: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE

Systematically review the scientific literature to characterize the effects of cannabis use on brain structure, function, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in adolescents and young adults with ADHD.

METHOD

Systematic review following PRISMA guidelines utilizing PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane CENTRAL trials register from inception until 1 January 2020. Articles that examined the impact of cannabis use on youth with ADHD were included.

RESULTS

Eleven studies were identified that compared outcomes for individuals with ADHD who used cannabis or synthetic cannabinoids against those with ADHD who did not. Seven of these studies used neuroimaging techniques, including fMRI, structural MRI, and SPECT. Differential regions of activation were identified, including the right hippocampus and cerebellar vermis, and bilateral temporal lobes. Morphological differences were identified in the right precentral and postcentral gyri, left nucleus accumbens, right superior frontal and postcentral gyri. No study identified any additive or ADHD × cannabis use interaction on neuropsychological tasks of executive function. Two studies found adverse differential impacts of early-onset cannabis use in this population.

CONCLUSION

A dearth of evidence is available on the impact of cannabis use on the developing brain and functioning for individuals with ADHD, despite the elevated risk for substance use in this population. The limited, potentially underpowered evidence does not support the hypothesis that cannabis use has a deleterious impact on neuropsychological tasks in transitional age youth with ADHD. Larger and longer-term studies are needed, however, to better inform clinicians and patients as to the impacts of cannabis use in youth with ADHD.

High prevalence of nonsuicidal self-injury, tattoos, and psychiatric comorbidity among male adolescent prisoners and their sociodemographic characteristics

BACKGROUND

This study investigates the frequency of psychiatric disorders and the sociodemographic and clinical features in adolescent prisoners.

METHOD

The psychiatric diagnoses and sociodemographic characteristics of treatment of 76 adolescent male prisoners and 76 age-matched patients were compared (age range: 15-17).

RESULTS

Conduct disorder (85.5%), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (61.8%), depression (50%), substance abuse (40.8%), post-traumatic stress disorder (19.7%), and psychotic disorder (3.9%) were more frequent among adolescent prisoners than the control group. The educational levels of parents of adolescent prisoners and their socioeconomic statuses were significantly lower, and the nonsuicidal self-injury (73.7%) and tattooing frequency (65.8%) were significantly higher among adolescent prisoners than the control group. Only 51.3% had both parents living together.

CONCLUSION

Psychiatric disorders, low socioeconomic status, family disorganization, nonsuicidal self-injury, tattoos, and interruption of education were frequent in adolescent prisoners in this study. Our findings emphasize the importance of early psychiatric treatment and family-based interventions to help prevent adolescents from committing crimes. In addition, nonsuicidal self-injury and tattoos may be associated with criminal behavior in adolescents.

Parental views on state cannabis laws and marijuana use for their medically vulnerable children

BACKGROUND

Given a rapidly changing policy landscape, we sought to characterize the effects of state marijuana laws on parents' views of marijuana use by their teenage children.

METHODS

Data are from 595 respondents to a nationally administered, web-based survey of parents of adolescents (ages 13-18 years) with any of three chronic conditions (type 1 diabetes, rheumatic disease, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). Multivariate ordinal logistic regression was used to model the effects of parents' reports of state cannabis laws on their views toward marijuana use by their child.

RESULTS

While 89.9% said any marijuana use was risky for their child, 27.9% would approve of its use if prescribed as medicine. Parents reporting marijuana decriminalization (11.1%) were more amenable to teenage use, less concerned about how marijuana might impact their child's condition, more accepting of the safety of marijuana as medicine, and approved its use with a prescription. Parents reporting legal medical (35.6%) or recreational (5.7%) use were more likely to report that their child has tried or used marijuana regularly. Parents reporting legal recreational use were less likely to agree that marijuana has medical benefits for their child.

CONCLUSIONS

Among parents of medically vulnerable children, perceiving state marijuana policies as more permissive is strongly associated with lower perceived riskiness of marijuana use for their children. State marijuana policies are changing with implications for how parents of medically vulnerable youth view and potentially govern marijuana use by their medically vulnerable children.