Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Controlled Clinical Trial
. 2019 Feb;13(1):142-146.
doi: 10.1111/eip.12542. Epub 2018 Jan 22.

Impact of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use on treatment outcomes among patients experiencing first episode psychosis: Data from the national RAISE-ETP study

Oladunni Oluwoye  1   2 , Maria Monroe-DeVita  3 , Ekaterina Burduli  1   2   4 , Lydia Chwastiak  3 , Sterling McPherson  2   3   4   5 , Jon M McClellan  3 , Michael G McDonell  1   2   4
Affiliations
Controlled Clinical Trial

Impact of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use on treatment outcomes among patients experiencing first episode psychosis: Data from the national RAISE-ETP study

Oladunni Oluwoye et al. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2019 Feb.

Abstract

Aim: The primary aim of this study was to examine the effect of recent tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use on treatment outcomes among participants experiencing first episode psychosis (FEP).

Methods: Secondary data analyses were conducted on 404 participants enrolled in the Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode-Early Treatment Program (RAISE-ETP) study. RAISE-ETP investigated the effectiveness of a coordinated specialty care (CSC) intervention for FEP in community mental health agencies in the United States. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine whether recent tobacco smoking, alcohol, and cannabis use at baseline were associated with illness severity, number of antipsychotic pills missed, psychiatric symptoms and quality of life during the 24-month treatment period, after controlling for duration of untreated psychosis and treatment group.

Results: At baseline, roughly 50% (n = 209) of participants reported recent tobacco, 28% (n = 113) alcohol and 24% (n = 95) cannabis use. Tobacco smokers had higher levels of illness severity (β = .24; P < .005), a higher number of missed pills (β = 2.89; P < .05), higher psychiatric symptoms and lower quality of life during treatment relative to non-smokers. Alcohol users had a higher number of missed pills (β = 3.16; P < .05) during treatment and cannabis users had higher levels of illness severity (β = .18; P < .05) and positive symptoms (β = 1.56; P < .05) relative to non-users.

Conclusions: Tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use are common in youth seeking treatment for FEP. Tobacco smoking was associated with more negative clinical outcomes. These findings have implications for including interventions targeting these areas of substance use within current CSC models.

Keywords: alcohol use; cannabis use; first episode psychosis; raise-ETP; tobacco use.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Atakan Z (2008). Cannabis use by people with severe mental illness–is it important? Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 14(6), 423–431.
    1. Barnett JH, Werners U, Secher SM, Hill KE, Brazil R, Masson K, … Jones PB (2007). Substance use in a population-based clinic sample of people with first-episode psychosis. The British Journal of Psychiatry: The Journal of Mental Science, 190, 515–520 190/6/515 [pii]. - PubMed
    1. Barrowclough C, Gregg L, Lobban F, Bucci S, & Emsley R (2015). The impact of cannabis use on clinical outcomes in recent onset psychosis. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 41(2), 382–390. 10.1093/schbul/sbu095 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bertolote J, & McGorry P (2005). Early intervention and recovery for young people with early psychosis: Consensus statement. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 48, s116–s119 187/48/s116 [pii]. - PubMed
    1. Colizzi M, Carra E, Fraietta S, Lally J, Quattrone D, Bonaccorso S, … Trotta A (2016). Substance use, medication adherence and outcome one year following a first episode of psychosis. Schizophrenia Research, 170(2), 311–317. - PubMed

Publication types