ReviewChild and adolescent psychiatry and mental health2026
Unusual experiences and early-onset psychosis associated to hallucinogen use in adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Trials, trips, and tribulations: pathways for implementing psychedelic therapy in Ireland.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHallucinogen use among adolescents is increasing worldwide. In this context, in recent years, hallucinogens have re-emerged in scientific and public discourse. However, whether there is an association between hallucinogens use in adolescents and the impact of such use in individuals with Early-Onset Psychosis (EOP), remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the prevalence and impact of hallucinogen use in adolescents with EOP, and the association between hallucinogen exposure and psychotic symptoms in community samples.
methodsWe carried out a PRISMA-compliant systematic search (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO; last search in July 2025). We included observational studies enrolling individuals under 18 years. Independent reviewers performed study selection, data extraction, and risk-of-bias assessment (using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale). We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of hallucinogen use in adolescents with EOP. Other clinical and functional outcomes, as well as evidence from community-based samples, were synthesized narratively. This was due to heterogeneity in design and reporting, which precluded the meta-analysis.
resultsTwelve articles met our inclusion criteria. 39.9% included individuals were female and the mean age was 16.1 years. In EOP, pooled prevalence of any hallucinogen use was 14.3% (k = 6; N = 713; 95% CI: 3.9%-40.9%). LSD use in the included studies ranged from 1.8 to 12.5%. MDMA use ranged from 3.5 to 42.9%. Hallucinogen use in EOP was consistently associated with polysubstance use and indicators of clinical complexity, including suicidality, conduct disorder, reduced educational attainment, and depot antipsychotic treatment. In the general population, hallucinogen use showed weak and inconsistent associations with psychotic symptoms and manic symptoms, but which largely attenuated after adjustment for other drugs and genetic vulnerability. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) scores ranged from 4 to 9, with a mean score of 6.4.
conclusionsHallucinogen use is common in adolescents with EOP and seems to be associated with more complex clinical trajectories, particularly higher rates of suicidality. Although not an isolated causal trigger, hallucinogens may contribute to symptom exacerbation in neurodevelopmentally or genetically predisposed youth. Future research should prioritise longitudinal, large-scale studies and introduce clinical trials in the field.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.