Risk for Schizophrenia Increased With ED Visits Involving Hallucinogen Use

Increased risk for SSD seen within three years for individuals with ED visit for hallucinogen use compared with ED visits for alcohol, cannabis

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Nov. 21, 2024 (HealthDay News) — In individuals without a history of psychosis, the risk for developing a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) is increased for individuals with an emergency department visit involving hallucinogen use, according to a study published online Nov. 13 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Daniel T. Myran, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues conducted a population-based, retrospective cohort study involving all individuals aged 14 to 65 years in Ontario with no history of psychosis (SSD- or substance-induced) to examine whether an emergency department visit involving hallucinogen use is associated with an increased risk for developing an SSD. The study included 9,244,292 individuals without a history of psychosis who were followed for a median of 5.1 years.

The researchers found that 0.1 percent of the participants had an incident emergency department visit involving hallucinogen use. Between 2008 and 2012, the annual rates of incident emergency department visits involving hallucinogens were stable and then increased by 86.4 percent between 2013 and 2021 from 3.4 to 6.4 per 100,000 individuals. Compared with the general population, individuals with emergency department visits involving hallucinogens had a greater risk for being diagnosed with an SSD within three years (absolute proportion with SSD at three years: 3.99 versus 0.15 percent; age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratio, 21.32). The increased risk persisted after adjustment for comorbid substance use and mental health conditions (hazard ratio, 3.53). In the fully adjusted model, compared with emergency department visits involving alcohol and cannabis, emergency department visits involving hallucinogens were associated with an increased risk for SSD within three years.

“Given rapid increases in interest in and adult use of hallucinogens and the increase in emergency department visits involving hallucinogens found in this study, ongoing research is needed to clarify the observed association between hallucinogen use and development of SSD,” the authors write.

Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.