Cannabis study men more susceptible to cannabis psychosis than women

Men are significantly more likely to develop cannabis psychosis than women
A British team of researchers led by Ian Hamilton from the University of York evaluated the data on "cannabis psychosis" in the United Kingdom and found significant gender differences. Accordingly, men are more frequently affected by cannabis psychosis than women. Male cannabis users are much more likely to report mental health issues such as "loss of reality, delusions or hallucinations, and difficulties in performing simple tasks," the British researchers report in the Advances in Dual Diagnosis journal..

Hundreds of thousands of Germans regularly weed, despite the existing ban on cannabis. After the legalization was implemented in some US states and not least initiated a significant economic upswing, in recent months in this country, the discussions about a possible release of cannabis have rekindled. Critics call here, among other things, the threat of cannabis psychosis as an argument against a legalization. According to the results of the British researchers, these appear to be particularly frequent for men, whereas the incidence rates in women are significantly lower.

Men are much more likely to struggle with cannabis psychosis than women (Image: camilledcsx / fotolia.com)

Protects estrogen from cannabis psychosis?
In general, men in the UK are about twice as likely to use cannabis as women, but this can not explain the dramatically increased morbidity rates among men, report Hamilton and colleagues. For the diagnoses of cannabis psychoses, the ratio of men to women is four to one. So, while about twice as many men kill, about four times as many are affected by cannabis psychosis. Although the causes of these disproportionately high rates of illness have not been conclusively investigated, the current study supports the results of previous studies, which suggested that the hormone estrogen has a protective effect on cannabis psychosis. Accordingly, women may be at lower risk due to their increased estrogen levels.

Uncertainties in determining the causes
However, the researchers acknowledge that the increased morbidity rates of men could be influenced, at least in part, by other factors. For example, women with children may be less willing to seek treatment for the disease, as they may be afraid of being deprived of their children's educational rights. There may also be a connection with the quantities of cannabis consumed, which were not recorded in the current study. As so often, answering a question has raised many new questions, says study author Ian Hamilton. Now it must be examined, whereby the increased morbidity rates of men are actually caused and what factors cause the low risk of morbidity in women. (Fp)