Cannabis Use Linked to Adverse Cardiovascular Outcomes

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Cannabis use is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes, according to a study published online Feb. 28 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Abra M. Jeffers, Ph.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues examined the association between cannabis use and cardiovascular outcomes via the population-based, cross-sectional study of 2016 to 2020 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey from 27 American states and two territories. In adults aged 18 to 74 years, the association of cannabis use with self-reported cardiovascular outcomes was examined in multivariable models, adjusting for tobacco use and other characteristics.

The researchers found that the prevalence of daily and nondaily cannabis use was 4 and 7.1 percent, respectively, among the 434,104 respondents. For the association of daily cannabis use and coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, and the composite outcome, the adjusted odds ratios (95 percent confidence intervals) were 1.16 (0.98 to 1.38), 1.25 (1.07 to 1.46), 1.42 (1.20 to 1.68), and 1.28 (1.13 to 1.44), respectively; proportionately lower log odds were seen for days of use between zero and 30 per month. Daily cannabis use was also associated with myocardial infarction, stroke, and the composite outcome among never-tobacco smokers (adjusted odds ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 1.49 [1.03 to 2.15], 2.16 [1.43 to 3.25], and 1.77 [1.31 to 2.40], respectively). For men younger than 55 years and women younger than 65 years, relationships between cannabis use and cardiovascular outcomes were similar.

“Patients and policymakers need to be informed of these potential risks, especially given the declining perception of risk associated with cannabis use,” the authors write.

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