Habitual cannabis use was associated with greater risk for recurrent stroke among younger adults with a history of stroke or transient ischemic attack vs. nonuse, according to data presented at the International Stroke Conference.
“Since marijuana use is more common among younger people and is now legal in several U.S. states, we felt it was crucial to study the various risks it may impose,” Akhil Jain, MD, resident physician at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, Pennsylvania, said in a press release. “First-time stroke risk among cannabis users is already established, so it intrigued us to investigate whether continued marijuana dependence also predisposes younger people to develop further strokes.”
Utilizing data from the National Inpatient Sample collected from October 2015 to December 2017, researchers identified hospitalized young adults with a history of stroke or TIA stratified by cannabis use disorder. Researchers evaluated the demographics, hospital characteristics and comorbidities amid younger adults with prior stroke/TIA and cannabis use disorder as well as the frequency of recurrent strokes compared with nonusers.
Researchers identified hospitalizations of individuals aged 18 to 44 years with prior stroke/TIA, of whom 4,690 had cannabis use disorder and 156,700 did not (median age, 37 years in both).
Among the cohort, those with cannabis use disorder were more often men (55.2% vs. 40.2%; P < .001), were more often Black adults (44.6% vs. 37.2%; P < .001) and were more likely to have concomitant substance abuse, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression and psychoses, and fewer CV comorbidities compared with nonusers of cannabis (P for all < .001).
Individuals with cannabis use disorder experienced a higher rate (6.9% vs 5.4%) and likelihood of recurrent stroke/TIA compared with nonusers (adjusted OR = 1.48; 95% CI, 1.28-1.71; P < .001).
Moreover, researchers observed higher rates of recurrent stroke in the cannabis use disorder group compared with nonuse group among:
- men (7.7% vs. 5.9%);
- white individuals (6.6% vs. 5.1%);
- Black individuals (8% vs. 5.2%);
- participants from low-income households (7.7% vs. 5.5%);
- those at Northeast region hospitals (6.1% vs. 4.4%); and
- those at South region hospitals (7.6% vs. 5.7%; P for all < .05).
“Young marijuana users who have a history of stroke or TIA remain at significantly higher risk of future stroke. Therefore, it is essential to increase awareness among younger adults of the adverse impact of chronic, habitual use of marijuana, especially if they have established cardiovascular disease risk factors or previous stroke episodes,” Jain said in the release. “Our study is hypothesis-generating research for future prospective and randomized controlled studies. More research work is required to look deeply into this concerning clinical question. Most importantly, the impact of various doses, duration, forms of cannabis abuse, and the use of medicinal cannabis on the occurrence of recurrent strokes are critical questions that need to be answered.”
Reference:
- Young marijuana smokers may be at greater risk of recurrent stroke. newsroom.heart.org/news/young-marijuana-smokers-may-be-at-greater-risk-of-recurrent-stroke. Published Feb. 3, 2022. Accessed Feb. 10, 2022.
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