The Prevalence of Substance-Induced Psychotic Disorder in Methamphetamine Misusers: A Meta-Analysis

This article is a meta-analysis that includes seventeen studies published before 2017 with 4,095 subjects recruited from psychiatric, addiction, or forensic facilities in three different continents. It evaluates methamphetamine use and the rate at which it was found to induce psychosis. Of note,  it can be difficult to distinguish patients with primary psychotic disorders who abuse methamphetamine from patients who use methamphetamine and develop transient or more persistent methamphetamine-induced psychotic disorders. Therefore, diagnosis of a methamphetamine-induced psychotic disorder is challenging also given the fact that methamphetamine abusers are often polysubstance abusers with psychiatric conditions. The study demonstrates that methamphetamine is neurotoxic to the brain as its regular use is linked to a prevalence rate over 40% of methamphetamine-induced psychotic disorder. This is significant because a methamphetamine-induced psychotic disorder can increase a patient’s vulnerability to experience future psychotic symptoms, which may be severe and persistent versus transient, especially in those who begin using at a younger age. The study also suggests that due to its high prevalence rate, methamphetamine use should be considered a risk factor for schizophrenia, as cannabis is. However, further research is ultimately necessary to better guide clinicians who provide addiction treatment as well as prevention strategies and health policies given the important public health consequences of methamphetamine abuse.