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A new survey study suggests cannabis usage from around the time a woman typically first learns she's pregnant through childbirth may have long-term behavioral effects on her child. The study's results further suggest a key issue that may be to blame. However, these results are tentative and suggestive only.
Study of 11,000 Kids Links Weed Use During Pregnancy to Child Behavioural Changes
As cannabis surges in popularity and more places legalise recreational weed, a growing number of people are using the drug in early pregnancy.
A large new study suggests there may be unexpected impacts of that choice. A cross-sectional analysis of 11, 489 children, 655 of whom were exposed to THC in the womb, has found cannabis use during pregnancy is tied to a small elevation in psychotic-like behaviours later in life.
These include aggression towards others, as well as attention and social problems.
While it could be that women with these behavioural features are more likely to use cannabis during pregnancy, the relationship stood even when other confounding factors, such as genetic predispositions, were considered.
Whether or not this link is causal is another matter - after all, there are many other factors the researchers may not have considered - but in the context of other research, it's an interesting link worthy of further exploration.
Animal models suggest THC - the psychoactive compound in cannabis - acts through endocannabinoid receptors in the developing brain, and these don't show up in the human fetus until five or six weeks into gestation.
Incidentally, this is when women generally learn they are pregnant. As such, the authors of the new study focused on people who continued to use cannabis even after finding out they were pregnant.
Children who were exposed prior to a mother's knowledge of pregnancy but not after showed no differences to those children that were not exposed at all. This further supports the idea that endocannabinoid receptors may play a role in child development. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.sciencealert.com/using-weed-during-pregnancy-linked-to-behavioural-changes-in-kids
Study of 11,000 Kids Links Weed Use During Pregnancy to Child Behavioural Changes
As cannabis surges in popularity and more places legalise recreational weed, a growing number of people are using the drug in early pregnancy.
A large new study suggests there may be unexpected impacts of that choice. A cross-sectional analysis of 11, 489 children, 655 of whom were exposed to THC in the womb, has found cannabis use during pregnancy is tied to a small elevation in psychotic-like behaviours later in life.
These include aggression towards others, as well as attention and social problems.
While it could be that women with these behavioural features are more likely to use cannabis during pregnancy, the relationship stood even when other confounding factors, such as genetic predispositions, were considered.
Whether or not this link is causal is another matter - after all, there are many other factors the researchers may not have considered - but in the context of other research, it's an interesting link worthy of further exploration.
Animal models suggest THC - the psychoactive compound in cannabis - acts through endocannabinoid receptors in the developing brain, and these don't show up in the human fetus until five or six weeks into gestation.
Incidentally, this is when women generally learn they are pregnant. As such, the authors of the new study focused on people who continued to use cannabis even after finding out they were pregnant.
Children who were exposed prior to a mother's knowledge of pregnancy but not after showed no differences to those children that were not exposed at all. This further supports the idea that endocannabinoid receptors may play a role in child development. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.sciencealert.com/using-weed-during-pregnancy-linked-to-behavioural-changes-in-kids