Summary: Prenatal exposure to cannabis is linked with a higher risk of neuropsychological problems — including anxiety, depression and other psychiatric symptoms — in children. Those risks persist and may grow as children move into adolescence and early adulthood.
Source: WUSTL
Children who were exposed to cannabis before birth continue to exhibit elevated rates of psychiatric symptoms — such as depression, anxiety and related conditions — as they approach adolescence, according to research from the BRAIN Lab in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, led by Associate Professor Ryan Bogdan.
This analysis, published Sept. 12, 2022 in JAMA Pediatrics, builds on earlier 2020 findings from the same lab. The prior study reported that children prenatally exposed to cannabis had slightly higher rates of sleep disturbances, lower birth weight and modest reductions in cognitive performance. In both the earlier and current work, the strongest associations occurred for cannabis use after the mother knew she was pregnant.
To evaluate whether these associations persisted as children entered adolescence, the research team followed more than 10,500 children who were included in the 2020 analysis. Those children averaged about 10 years of age in 2020 and were reassessed as they approached ages 11 and 12.
The study draws on data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, a longitudinal effort that began in 2016 and enrolled nearly 12,000 children ages 9–10 and a parent or primary caregiver across 22 sites in the United States. The ABCD Study is funded by the National Institutes of Health and federal partners and is designed to track brain development, health and behavior through adolescence and into early adulthood.
Although the age difference between the initial assessment and follow-up may seem small — from about 10 years old to roughly 11–12 — it is clinically meaningful. “In the first wave they were still children; now they’re approaching adolescence,” said David Baranger, a postdoctoral researcher in the BRAIN Lab. This transition is a critical developmental window when many mental health disorders first emerge.
Analysis of the follow-up data revealed that rates of psychiatric symptoms did not diminish as the children aged. Instead, those with prenatal cannabis exposure remained at increased risk for clinical psychiatric disorders and problematic substance use as they move into later adolescence.
The researchers emphasize that the observed differences persist into early adolescence and expect that vulnerabilities may become more pronounced by mid-adolescence (around ages 14–15) and continue into young adulthood. Such trajectories underscore the importance of monitoring and early intervention for at-risk youth.
About this psychology and neurodevelopment research news
Author: Brandie Jefferson
Source: WUSTL
Contact: Brandie Jefferson – WUSTL
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Closed access.
“Association of Mental Health Burden With Prenatal Cannabis Exposure From Childhood to Early Adolescence” by Ryan Bogdan et al., JAMA Pediatrics.
Abstract
Association of Mental Health Burden With Prenatal Cannabis Exposure From Childhood to Early Adolescence
Rising rates of cannabis use during pregnancy have raised public health concerns because prenatal exposure may be linked with multiple adverse developmental and psychiatric outcomes. Earlier analyses of ABCD baseline data indicated that prenatal cannabis exposure occurring after a mother knew she was pregnant was associated with increased psychopathology in middle childhood.
In the present study, the authors used longitudinal data from the ABCD Study (data release 4.0) to determine whether associations between prenatal cannabis exposure and child psychopathology persist into early adolescence. The longitudinal approach allows researchers to track symptom trajectories over time and to evaluate the potential emergence or escalation of mental health conditions as children move through critical developmental stages.
Key implications of this research include the need for increased awareness among clinicians, expectant parents and public health professionals about potential long-term mental health risks associated with prenatal cannabis exposure, and the value of early screening and supportive interventions for children with known prenatal exposure. Continued follow-up of the ABCD cohort will help clarify how these risks evolve through mid-adolescence and into young adulthood, informing prevention and treatment strategies aimed at reducing psychiatric burden among exposed individuals.