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US: Cognitive Functioning Of Long-Term Heavy Cannabis Users Seeking Treatment
Nadia Solowij, PhD, et al Journal of the American Medical Association
Wednesday 06 Mar 2002 Vol. 287, No. 9 Authors: Nadia Solowij, PhD; Robert S. Stephens, PhD; Roger A. Roffman, DSW; Thomas Babor, PhD, MPH; Ronald Kadden, PhD; Michael Miller, PhD; Kenneth Christiansen, PsyD; Bonnie McRee, MPH; Janice Vendetti, MPH; for the Marijuana Treatment Project Research Group Context Cognitive impairments are associated with long-term cannabis use, but the parameters of use that contribute to impairments and the nature and endurance of cognitive dysfunction remain uncertain. Objective To examine the effects of duration of cannabis use on specific areas of cognitive functioning among users seeking treatment for cannabis dependence. Design, Setting, and Participants Multisite retrospective cross-sectional neuropsychological study conducted in the United States ( Seattle, Wash; Farmington, Conn; and Miami, Fla ) between 1997 and 2000 among 102 near-daily cannabis users ( 51 long-term users: mean, 23.9 years of use; 51 shorter-term users: mean, 10.2 years of use ) compared with 33 nonuser controls. Main Outcome Measures Measures from 9 standard neuropsychological tests that assessed attention, memory, and executive functioning, and were administered prior to entry to a treatment program and following a median 17-hour abstinence. Results Long-term cannabis users performed significantly less well than shorter- term users and controls on tests of memory and attention. On the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, long-term users recalled significantly fewer words than either shorter-term users ( P = .001 ) or controls ( P = .005 ); there was no difference between shorter-term users and controls. Long-term users showed impaired learning ( P = .007 ), retention ( P = .003 ), and retrieval ( P = .002 ) compared with controls. Both user groups performed poorly on a time estimation task ( P( .001 vs controls ). Performance measures often correlated significantly with the duration of cannabis use, being worse with increasing years of use, but were unrelated to withdrawal symptoms and persisted after controlling for recent cannabis use and other drug use. Conclusions These results confirm that long-term heavy cannabis users show impairments in memory and attention that endure beyond the period of intoxication and worsen with increasing years of regular cannabis use. JAMA. 2002;287:1123-1131 In the current climate of debate about marijuana laws and interest in marijuana as medicine, [1] one issue remains unresolved: Does heavy, frequent, or prolonged use of cannabis lead to a deterioration in cognitive function that persists well beyond any period of acute intoxication? Is the functioning of the brain altered in the long term? With over 7 million people using cannabis weekly or more often in the United States alone [2] and the potential for increased physician recommendations for select patients to use cannabis therapeutically, [1] answers to these questions are of significant public health concern. [3, 4] Scientific evidence from past research clearly showed that gross impairment related to chronic cannabis use did not occur but was inconclusive with regard to the presence of more specific deficits. [5, 6] Recent studies with improved methods have demonstrated changes in cognition and brain function associated with long-term or frequent use of cannabis. Specific impairments of attention, memory, and executive function have been found in cannabis users in the unintoxicated state ( and in children exposed to cannabis in utero [7] ) in controlled studies using brain event-related potential techniques6, [8-10] and neuropsychological assessments [11-15] including complex tasks. Brain imaging studies of cannabis users have demonstrated altered function, blood flow, and metabolism in prefrontal and cerebellar regions. [16-19] Studies failing to detect cognitive decline associated with cannabis use [20] may reflect insufficient heavy or chronic use of cannabis in the sample or the use of insensitive assessment instruments. Impairments appear to increase with duration and frequency of cannabis use; however, the parameters of use that are associated with short-or long-lasting cognitive and brain dysfunction have not been fully elucidated. The attribution of deficits to lingering acute effects, drug residues, abstinence effects, or lasting changes caused by chronic use continues to be debated. [5, 6] Animal research suggests an important role for the cannabinoid receptor in regulating the neural activity critical for memory processing. [21-24] Long-term use of cannabis may result in altered functioning of the cannabinoid receptor and its associated neuromodulator systems. This study investigated the nature of cognitive impairments associated with long-term cannabis use employing data collected from a large clinical trial of chronic users seeking treatment for cannabis dependence. The study compared 102 cannabis users assessed prior to treatment on carefully selected neuropsychological tests with 33 nonuser controls. The parameters of cannabis use that contribute to impairment were examined. It was hypothesized that performance would deteriorate as the number of years of regular use increased. METHODS Design A multisite, retrospective, cross-sectional comparison-group design was used to compare ( 1 ) long-term users with a mean of 23.9 years of regular cannabis use; ( 2 ) shorter-term users with a mean of 10.2 years of regular use; and ( 3 ) nonusers of cannabis. Key confounding variables ( age, IQ, other drug use ) were controlled through matching or statistical methods. The sample size required for this study was determined by estimating a 94% chance of detecting a moderate effect size of 0.5 SD units at a 2-tailed of .05. Recruitment Procedure and Assessment of Drug Use Sixty-five of the 102 cannabis users were delayed-treatment participants from the Marijuana Treatment Project, a multisite US study ( Seattle, Wash; Farmington, Conn; and Miami, Fla ) conducted between 1997 and 2000 of the effectiveness of brief treatments for cannabis dependence.25 The remainder were recruited through the Marijuana Treatment Project specifically for this study. Participants provided written informed consent as approved by the ethics committees of the participating institutions and were paid $75 for completing the cognitive assessments. Controls ( n = 33 ) were recruited from the general population through media advertisements at only 1 site. The controls were told that the researchers were studying the effects of exposure to drugs and alcohol on cognitive functioning, and that at present only individuals at the lighter end of the spectrum of drug experience were required. The aim was to minimize cannabis use among controls while approximating the other characteristics of the cannabis-using sample. Assessors were not blinded with regard to group assignment. Self-reported drug and alcohol use were assessed by the Addiction Severity Index,26 a separate structured interview, and the Time Line Follow Back procedure. [27, 28] The Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition ( DSM-IV ) Axis I Disorders ( SCID ) [29] assessed cannabis dependence. Duration of regular ( at least twice per month ) cannabis use was an averaged composite measure derived from the Addiction Severity Index, SCID, and the structured interview. Current frequency of cannabis use was calculated from the Time Line Follow Back procedure. Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria Cannabis users were included if they had used cannabis regularly for at least 3 years, were currently using at least once a week, were seeking treatment to assist them to cease or reduce their use of cannabis, and were willing to participate in the treatment program offered. Participants were excluded if they had ever had a serious illness or injury that may have affected the brain, any psychotic disorder, met a current DSM-IV diagnosis of dependence on any other drug or alcohol, or had a poor command of the English language. Sample Characteristics Table 1 provides demographic information and cannabis use parameters. ( acquisition ( 3 words over 5 trials ) was greater among long-term users ( 13.7% ) than controls ( 0% ) ( P = .007 ) but not shorter-term users ( 5.9% ). The proportion of long-term users recalling fewer than 10 words on trial V ( 27.5% ) was more than among shorter-term users ( 8.5% ) or controls ( 3.0% ) ( P = .002 ). Significantly more long-term users ( 23.5% ) lost 3 or more words over the 20-minute delay between trials VI and VII than shorter-term users ( 4.3% ) or controls ( 3.0% ) ( P = .003 ). Long-term users showed a smaller primacy effect in the serial position curve than either other group ( P = .02 ). Groups did not differ in the recency effect or in words recalled from the middle of the list. Users overall and long-term users recognized fewer words than controls from list A ( overall, P = .03; long-term, P = .01 ) and list B ( overall, P = .01; long-term, P = .04 ) but long-term users did not differ from shorter-term users. More than half of the long-term users ( 55% ) had a recognition score for list A of 12 or less compared with 28% of shorter-term users and 21% of controls ( P = .002 ). Long-term users misassigned more words ( median, 2 ) than shorter-term users and controls ( each median, 0 ) ( P( .001 ). A greater proportion of long- term users ( 13.7% ) compared with shorter-term users ( 6.4% ) and controls ( 0% ) actually identified fewer words on recognition than they had just prior during recall on trial VII ( P = .02 ). Long-term users' performance was significantly poorer than published norms [47] for the general population on most measures from the RAVLT. Stroop Test Cannabis users did not differ significantly from controls after inclusion of covariates in any condition or on interference scores. While there were no performance differences between Color-Word ( CW ) and Color-Read ( CR ) in the control group, performance on CR was, however, poorer than on CW in both long ( P( .001 ) and shorter-term users ( P .03 ). Color-Read was the additional interference condition designed to increase demands on executive function.43 There was an inverse relationship between duration of cannabis use and number of items completed on CR ( partial r, - 0.27; P = .003 ) and CW ( partial r, - 0.27; P = .004 ) after controlling for age and FSIQ. These results suggest that cannabis users are vulnerable to task complexity with increasing demands creating more sources of interference that adversely affect performance. Wisconsin Card Sorting Test There were no significant group differences on any Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ( WCST ) measure but a trend on one: long-term users failed to maintain the set more often than shorter-term users ( P = .05 ) or controls ( P = .07 ). Research suggests that this measure best represents attentional dysfunction. [39] There was no evidence of impaired performance with increasing years of cannabis use after controlling for covariates. Alphabet Task and Omitted Numbers Groups did not differ in the time taken to complete any trial of the Alphabet Task or in the number of items correct in the Omitted Numbers task. The log time to complete the alternating trial of the Alphabet Task increased as a function of duration of cannabis use ( partial r, 0.26; P = .006 ), as did the square root difference between times taken to complete the alternating and loud trials, an index of interference and lack of flexibility ( partial r, 0.26; P = .006 ). Time Estimation Tasks Cannabis users differed from controls ( P( .001 ) in Time Estimation Task A where they estimated the time taken to complete the preceding ( Omitted Numbers ) task. Both long- and shorter-term users underestimated the time by about one third of the actual time taken ( 64.4 seconds ) and differed significantly from controls ( P = .01 and P( .001, respectively ). Groups did not differ in the simple and brief warned passive Time Estimation Task B or Time Production, where they could use strategies such as counting. Time estimation measures did not correlate with duration of cannabis use. Auditory Consonant Trigrams Long-term users recalled significantly fewer items than shorter-term users ( P = .007 ), controls ( P = .002 ), and published norms [48] on only the 9-second delay condition. The number of items recalled did not correlate with duration of cannabis use. In the general population, the greater the delay interval the worse the performance. In cannabis users, this general pattern was apparent, though there was greater interference at the shorter-delay interval than would be expected. Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test Long-term users had slower processing rates than shorter-term users on trial 1 ( P = .007 ), with trends on trial 2 ( P = .03 ) and the total processing rate across all trials ( P = .02 ). Group differences on all other measures failed to reach significance but the performance of the long-term users was poorer in comparison with one set of norms49 but not another. [50] Pure Effects Attributable to Cannabis Use and Effects of Recent vs Chronic Use Excluding all participants with histories of regular other drug or alcohol use, dependence or treatment, and controls with any history of regular cannabis use within the past 20 years reduced the sample to 27 long-term users, 33 shorter-term users, and 26 controls. Despite the reduction in power to detect differences between groups, there remained a significant difference with = .05 between long-term users and controls on RAVLTsum ( P = .03 ), recognition of lists A ( P = .004 ) and B ( P = .01 ), and between users overall and controls on the unwarned Time Estimation task ( P = .02 ). These results support the hypothesis that impaired memory function and time estimation are specific to chronic use of cannabis. In a separate analysis, exclusion of users whose urinary cannabinoid metabolite levels exceeded those from the night before testing by 50 ng/mg or more ( n = 18 ) still resulted in significant differences between long- and shorter-term users, and long-term users and controls on RAVLT sum ( P = .002 and P = .002, respectively ), on recognition of lists A ( P = .005 and P = .006 ) and B ( P = .01 and P( .001 ), on the 9-second delay of the Auditory Consonant Trigrams test ( P = .02 and P = .03 ), and users still differed from controls on time estimation ( P = .005 ). When the sample was split at the median for time since last use or level of urinary cannabinoid metabolite on the day of testing and analyzed by ANCOVA, there were no differences on any measure between those who had used cannabis within the past 17 hours and those who had used cannabis 17 or more hours ago, or those with high vs low levels of urinary metabolites and no interactions with duration of cannabis use. Including measures of recent use as covariates in ANCOVA did not change the significance of differences between long- and shorter-term users. These results support the hypothesis that impaired performance is not a consequence of recent use prior to testing or the extent of cannabinoid residues present. To explore further the influences of duration of cannabis use and recency of use, semipartial correlations were calculated using the following predictors: FSIQ, age, duration of cannabis use, and hours since last use of cannabis. As shown in Table 4, the unique contribution of duration of cannabis use to the variance of each test variable was superior or at least equivalent to that of recency of use in all 6 test variables that had significant contributions from at least 1 cannabis use parameter. Recent use contributed only to performance on the memory tests. The fact that a minority of the sample, primarily shorter-term users, reported experiencing mild withdrawal symptoms, yet shorter-term users' performance was not impaired, supports the interpretation of the cognitive impairments observed as a long-term consequence of cannabis use and not a manifestation of overtly experienced withdrawal. COMMENT The results of this study have confirmed and extended previous findings of cognitive impairments among chronic heavy cannabis users. Acknowledgment: We are grateful to Aimee Balmer-Campbell, BA, Kara Brennan Dion, BA, David Duresky, MA, Dave Ghany, BA, Brian Glidden, BA, Cara Gluskoter, MS, Cher Gunby, BA, Jennifer Haley, BA, Heather Haynes, RN, Patricia Holkon, MA, Elise Kabella, PhD, Priscilla Morse, MA, Joe Picciano, MS, Sam Schwartz, MSW, Megan Swan, MA, Debbie Talamini, AS, and Anna Wolfe, BA, for input and assistance with data collection and trial management, Peter Caputi, BA, GradDip, for statistical advice, Brin Grenyer, PhD, for comments on the manuscript, Eva Congreve, DipLib, for library assistance, and to all participants in this research. REFERENCES 1. Watson SJ, Benson JA, Joy JE. Marijuana and medicine: assessing the science base: a summary of the 1999 Institute of Medicine report. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000;57:547-552. 2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ( SAMHSA ). 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