Cigarette smoking and cannabis use are equally strongly associated with psychotic-like experiences: a cross-sectional study in 1929 young adults

Abstract

Background Cannabis use is associated with increased risk for psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and psychotic disorders. It remains unclear whether this relationship is causal or due to confounding. Method A total of 1929 young adults aged 18–30 years participated in a nationwide internet-based survey in The Netherlands and gave information on demographics, substance use and parental psychiatric illness and completed the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE). Results Cigarette smoking and cannabis use were equally strongly associated with the frequency of PLEs in a fully adjusted model ( β = 0.098 and 0.079 respectively, p < 0.05). Cannabis use was associated with distress from PLEs in a model adjusted for an elaborate set of confounders excluding smoking ( β = 0.082, p < 0.05). However, when cigarette smoking was included in the model, cannabis use was not a significant predictor of distress from PLEs. Cigarette smoking remained associated with distress from PLEs in a fully adjusted model ( β = 0.107, p < 0.001). Conclusions Smoking is an equally strong independent predictor of frequency of PLEs as monthly cannabis use. Our results suggest that the association between moderate cannabis use and PLEs is confounded by cigarette smoking.