@article {263, title = {Maternal and paternal cannabis use during pregnancy and the risk of psychotic-like experiences in the offspring}, journal = {Schizophrenia Research}, volume = {202}, year = {2018}, pages = {322 - 327}, abstract = {

Cannabis use continues to increase among pregnant women. Gestational cannabis exposure has been associated with various adverse outcomes. However, it remains unclear whether cannabis use during pregnancy increases the risk for offspring psychotic-like experiences. In this prospective cohort, we examined the relationship between parental cannabis use during pregnancy and offspring psychotic-like experiences. Comparisons were made between maternal and paternal cannabis use during pregnancy to investigate causal influences of intra-uterine cannabis exposure during foetal neurodevelopmental. This study was embedded in the Generation R birth cohort and included N = 3692 participants. Maternal cannabis exposure was determined using self-reports and cannabis metabolite levels from urine. Paternal cannabis use during pregnancy was obtained by maternal report. Maternal cannabis use increased the risk of psychotic-like experiences in the offspring (ORadjusted = 1.38, 95\% CI 1.03\–1.85). Estimates were comparable for maternal cannabis use exclusively before pregnancy versus continued cannabis use during pregnancy. Paternal cannabis use was similarly associated with offspring psychotic-like experiences (ORadjusted = 1.44, 95\% CI 1.14\–1.82). We demonstrated that both maternal and paternal cannabis use were associated with more offspring psychotic-like experiences at age ten years. This may suggest that common aetiologies, rather than solely causal intra-uterine mechanisms, underlie the association between parental cannabis use and offspring psychotic-like experiences. These common backgrounds most likely reflect genetic vulnerabilities and shared familial mechanisms, shedding a potential new light on the debated causal path from cannabis use to psychotic-like phenomena. Our findings indicate that diagnostic screening and preventative measures need to be adapted for young people at risk for severe mental illness.

}, keywords = {Child psychiatry, Epidemiology, Gestational exposure, Marijuana, Psychosis, Substance use}, issn = {0920-9964}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2018.06.067}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0920996418304110}, author = {Koen Bolhuis and Steven A. Kushner and Selda Yalniz and Manon H.J. Hillegers and Vincent W.V. Jaddoe and Henning Tiemeier and Hanan El Marroun} } @article {273, title = {Preconception and prenatal cannabis use and the risk of behavioural and emotional problems in the offspring; a multi-informant prospective longitudinal study}, journal = {International Journal of Epidemiology}, year = {2018}, pages = {dyy186}, abstract = {

Background:

Studies of the long-term consequences of maternal cannabis use on child development beyond the neonatal period are sparse. In the current study, we use a multi-information approach to assess the association of prenatal cannabis exposure and child behavioural and emotional functioning. To explore the possible causal nature of the association, we investigated whether maternal tobacco and paternal cannabis use during pregnancy were also associated with child problems.

Methods:

The study population included children of a population-based birth cohort in The Netherlands (n = 5903). Information on parental cannabis use was collected using questionnaires; urine of mothers was analysed for the presence of cannabis metabolites. Child behavioural and emotional problems at approximately 7-10\ years were measured using validated teacher-, child- and mother-reports.

Results:

Our findings show associations of maternal cannabis use during pregnancy with offspring externalising problems (B = 0.53; 95\% CI: 0.29-0.77), but not with internalising problems (B = -0.10; 95\% CI: -0.31-0.11). However, maternal cannabis use before pregnancy was also associated with offspring externalising problems (B = 0.27; 95\% CI: 0.02-0.52). Further, cannabis use by the father was associated with child externalising problems (B = 0.36; 95\% CI: 0.22-0.49) but not internalising problems.

Conclusions:

Prenatal exposure to maternal cannabis use is specifically associated with offspring behavioural problems, but not emotional problems. This association is probably not due to an effect of intrauterine cannabis exposure on fetal development, because both maternal and paternal cannabis exposure during pregnancy were related to offspring externalising problems. Our findings suggest that the association can be explained through residual confounding, most likely through shared genetic vulnerabilities for parental cannabis use and offspring behavioural problems.

}, doi = {10.1093/ije/dyy186}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyy186}, author = {Hanan El Marroun and Koen Bolhuis and Franken, Ingmar H A and Vincent W.V. Jaddoe and Manon H.J. Hillegers and Benjamin B Lahey and Henning Tiemeier} }