Distress and sleep quality in young amphetamine-type stimulant users with an affective or psychotic illness

作者：Crouse Jacob J; Lee Rico S C; White Django; Moustafa Ahmed A; Hickie Ian B; Hermens Daniel F

来源：Psychiatry Research, 2018, 262: 254-261.

DOI：10.1016/j.psychres.2018.02.033

• Methamphetamine
• MDMA
• Neurocognition
• Youth mental health

Misuse of amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) drugs may disrupt key neurodevelopmental processes in young people and confer protracted neurocognitive and psychopathological harm. ATS users with a co-occurring psychiatric illness are typically excluded from research, reducing generalisability of findings. Accordingly, we conducted a cross-sectional examination of key clinical, sleep, socio-occupational and neurocognitive measures in current, past and never users of ATS drugs who were accessing a youth mental health service (headspace) for affective- or psychotic-spectrum illnesses. Contrary to hypotheses, groups did not differ in psychotic symptomology, socio-occupational functioning or neurocognitive performance. Current ATS users were however significantly more distressed and reported poorer subjective sleep quality and greater subjective sleep disturbances than never users, with a trend toward greater depressive symptomology in current users. Regression analyses revealed that depressive symptoms, daily ATS use and socio-occupational functioning predicted distress, and depressive symptoms and distress predicted subjective sleep quality. Our findings suggest that distress and poor sleep quality reflect a particular pathophysiology among ATS-using patients, which may negatively impact treatment engagement. Delineating the factors that disrupt social and neurobiological development in young people (such as substance use) warrants further investigation, including longitudinal study.

• 出版日期2018-4