TY - JOUR
T1 - Distress and sleep quality in young amphetamine-type stimulant users with an affective or psychotic illness
AU - Crouse, Jacob J.
AU - Lee, Rico S.C.
AU - White, Django
AU - Moustafa, Ahmed A.
AU - Hickie, Ian B.
AU - Hermens, Daniel F.
PY - 2018/4
Y1 - 2018/4
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85042177055&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.02.033
DO - 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.02.033
M3 - Article
C2 - 29475104
AN - SCOPUS:85042177055
SN - 0165-1781
VL - 262
SP - 254
EP - 261
JO - Psychiatry Research
JF - Psychiatry Research
ER -