- Latent profile analysis of hair assays at ages 20 and 24 identified five change profiles: low/decreasers, cannabis, club drug, medical stimulant, and medical sedative increasers.
- Cannabis and club drug increasers showed reduced attention; sedative increasers showed broad cognitive impairment; stimulant increasers had markedly elevated ADHD symptoms.
- Longitudinal hair testing of over 100 substances offers objective monitoring and could inform targeted prevention during this neurodevelopmentally sensitive period.
Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci. 2026 Jul 24;6(6):100795. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2026.100795. eCollection 2026 Nov.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Emerging adulthood is a developmental period marked by heightened risk for illicit substance use, potentially influencing neurocognitive development and mental health. However, longitudinal and objective data on changing patterns of substance use and their associated neuropsychiatric outcomes remain scarce. Longitudinal monitoring of substance use could inform targeted prevention strategies during this sensitive developmental period.
METHODS: This Swiss longitudinal cohort study included 731 emerging adults. Hair concentrations of >100 psychoactive substances and metabolites were assessed at ages 20 and 24 years. Latent profile analysis was used to derive profiles of change in recent substance use. Regression models examined associations with cognitive functioning (attention, working memory, declarative memory, composite score) measured at age 24 using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery and mental health symptoms assessed at both ages 20 and 24 using the Social Behavior Questionnaire.
RESULTS: Among participants with substance use at either time point (n = 440), 5 distinct change profiles were identified: low/decreasers (n = 288, 65.5%), cannabis increasers (n = 48, 10.9%), club drug increasers (n = 40, 9.1%), medical stimulant increasers (n = 43, 9.8%), and medical sedative increasers (n = 21, 4.8%). Compared with participants with no hair-tested substance use (n = 291), cannabis increasers showed lower attention (d = 0.34) and elevated anxiety-depressive (d = 0.53) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (d = 0.38) symptoms. Club drug increasers performed worse on attention (d = 0.41) and composite cognitive scores (d = 0.39). Medical sedative increasers showed lower attention (d = 0.74), working memory (d = 0.58), and composite cognitive performance (d = 0.76). Medical stimulant increasers showed markedly elevated ADHD symptoms (d = 0.82).
CONCLUSIONS: Emerging adults’ profiles of change in recent substance use were associated with specific cognitive and mental health risks.
PMID:42733446 | PMC:PMC13571240 | DOI:10.1016/j.bpsgos.2026.100795
Share Evidence Blueprint
Save to Google Notes
Search Google Scholar
Save as PDF
⭐ My Revision List
