Sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with comorbid hazardous cannabis use among psychiatric patients at a tertiary hospital in Jamaica

Objective: This research aimed at assessing comorbid cannabis use among psychiatric patients and the factors associated with it at a tertiary hospital in Jamaica.

Methods: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study of patients accessing psychiatric services at a tertiary hospital. Pearson chi-squared test for independence used to assess subgroup differences on categorical variables. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the sociodemographic characteristics and clinical factors associated with hazardous cannabis use. Statistical significance was taken at p < 0.05.

Results: Among the 280 patients, 68% were males. The mean age was 33.88 ± 14.38 years. Approximately half (48%) of the participants were cannabis users. In bivariate analysis, cannabis use was associated with male gender (p < 0.001), being 30 years of age or younger (p < 0.001), being unemployed (p < 0.05), religiously affiliated (p < 0.01), and having a past history of aggression (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, residing in Kingston/St Andrew [urban locality] (AOR: 7.74, 95%CI: 2.18–27.49) and being affiliated with a religion (AOR: 3.50, 95%CI: 1.20–10.19) were significantly positively associated with hazardous cannabis use.

Conclusion: Comorbid cannabis use was high among the patients. Parish of residence and religious affiliation were independent predictors of hazardous cannabis use. Clinical factors had no significant association with hazardous cannabis use.