Comparison of Methamphetamine Induced Psychosis and Primary Psychotic Disorder: Scoping Review of Social Cognition

Abstract

As many as 43% of methamphetamine users will have a psychotic episode in their lifetime. Of these, 30% will develop a primary psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia. The current state of the literature does not currently allow us to determine who will develop a primary psychotic disorder following a methamphetamine-induced psychosis (MIPD). This distinction is important, since people with a first episode of a psychotic disorder need specific and rapid treatments to ensure optimal recovery. Social cognition could help predict distinct profiles. The aim of this scoping review is to evaluate the literature in order to extract the differences between MIPD and primary psychotic disorders in the domain of social cognition. Articles were recovered from PsychINFO, Medline and Web of science and were retained if they met the following inclusion criteria: (a) original research or meta-analyses, (b) complete or partial sample with a psychotic disorder diagnosis with comorbid methamphetamine use, or MIPD, (c) studies focusing on the difference between a methamphetamine-induced psychosis and a primary psychotic disorder, and (d) studies focusing on social cognition in psychotic or methamphetamine using population. A total of 17 articles were identified, with none directly aiming at distinguishing MIPD and primary psychotic disorder using social cognition. Future studies on social cognition are needed in order to determine differences in the severity of deficits between the two profiles.