Just as marijuana has an increasing number of slang terms there is an increasing number of adverse consequences that are now being attributed to its use.
I have recently pointed out a California study indicating that since it’s legalization, there has been increased ER use for those over 65 attributed to marijuana. Similarly a recent Canadian study documented increased psychosis due to cannabis use.
And today I read about a recent study originally published in Psychiatry Advisor that demonstrated increased cardiovascular disease in cannabis users. More specifically, individuals with cannabis use disorder (CUD) have an approximately 60% higher risk of experiencing incident adverse cardiovascular disease (CVD) events relative to those without CUD. The investigators examined longitudinal data, collected between January 2012 and December 2019, from multiple databases maintained by the Alberta Ministry of Health. Patients with CUD were identified using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes and control patients were matched on age, gender, and time of health service utilization. The primary outcome of the study was an incident CVD event over the course of the study period. The investigators included acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, other ischemic heart disease, ischemic stroke, heart failure, cardiac dysrhythmias, or peripheral vascular disease as eligible CVD event outcomes. Patients with a previous history of CVD events were excluded.
A total of 29,764 patient pairs (n=59,528 individuals) were included in the analysis, with a 0.8% prevalence of CUD overall for Alberta. The proportion of participants experiencing at least one incident adverse CVD event was 2.4% in the CUD group vs 1.5% in the control group (risk ratio [RR], 1.57).
These findings revealed that adults with CUD had a 60% higher risk of experiencing incident adverse CVD events relative to matched individuals without CUD. Study authors concluded, “Importantly, this evidence suggests that cannabis use may place a healthier population at increased risk of major cardiovascular events.”
I found this study interesting in that CUD appears to be not only a new but also an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Perhaps being a pothead is a prelude to being a deadhead, literally!
12/22/23