Research into substance use and psychosis link
PE psychiatrist embarks on project after noticing lack of data
A Port Elizabeth psychiatrist has launched an ambitious research project to study potential links between substance use and the first onset of psychosis in psychiatric patients.
Dora Nginza Hospital-based psychiatrist Dr Yanga Thungana, who has noted a lack of data on the possible links between the use of substances such as alcohol and narcotics and psychosis, will carry out his MMed research at the facility’s acute mental unit.
Thungana is a Discovery Rural Fellowship Award recipient and joins other Bay medical professionals who have received Discovery Foundation grants this year. The foundation makes grants available for various research projects in the public health sector annually.
His research will study the substance-use history of patients admitted to the unit – which receives and treats psychiatric emergencies – for the period between November 2016 and October 2017.
“We have noted an increase in the use of substances in patients with psychiatric illness but no study has been done in our area to confirm this,” Thungana explained.
“The objectives are to determine the prevalence of substance use in psychiatry patients in relation to their first onset of psychosis.
“Second, it is to document which substances were used frequently and to estimate the effects of substances on the outcome of their psychiatric illness.”
Thungana said there were not enough centres for people with both mental illness and substance use problems in the Eastern Cape.
“I would like to see increased attention given to this area as a majority of people with mental illness also have substance use problems.
“I am still very early in my career as a specialist but a few things have stuck with me, such as the increasing use of illicit substances and their effect on the brain function or pathology,” he said.
“There is lack of effective treatment for drug abuse and I would like to add to the knowledge that will change this for the better.
“South Africa is among the top countries with high levels of substance abuse, especially alcohol abuse. We are among the top countries with the most dangerous drinking behaviour.
“The topic is very relevant as every community in the country is affected by the use of drugs.
“I will be looking at patients who have been admitted in the past year and who had been diagnosed with a first episode of psychosis,” he said.
“Basically that means people who did not have a mental illness prior to this admission.
“We will be studying how many of them were using alcohol and/or other substances at the time that they were admitted to hospital.
“We will also check on their history of drug use, if any.”
He said so far he had found that 80% of these patients were currently using alcohol or other drugs and a few had a history of alcohol or drug use.
“We are still busy with analysis but so far alcohol is the most commonly used substance, followed by cannabis.”
Thungana said psychosis is a term used for individuals who have abnormal sensory experiences (for instance, they see or hear things that are not real), have strange or abnormal beliefs or are not making sense, or display abnormal behaviour.
Thungana earned his MBChB from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine in 2011.
He completed a course in basic surgery skills from Livingston Hospital in 2013; a diploma in mental health from the Colleges of Medicine of SA in 2014; and started his fouryear registrar training at Walter Sisulu University and Dora Nginza in 2015.
He said of his achievements: “I am motivated daily by the belief that, if I could manage to change my situation, so can another person.
“I needed help from other people because I could not do it all by myself, so I understand the importance of offering help to others.”
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