Smoking cannabis would increase the risk of stroke in young people

Regularly, new studies on the effects of cannabis are surfacing. Sometimes they present an effective medical plant, for example to fight against epilepsy or to limit chronic pain in the elderly, and sometimes a drug described as an aggravating factor or trigger of certain diseases.

A study over 5 years

A new five-year study in the United States has made a difference. This trend is biased towards a negative effect of marijuana since, according to her, marijuana use increases the risk of stroke in young people.

The study, presented on the third day of the World Stroke Congress in Montreal, examined US hospital statistics from 2010 to 2014. It studied a total of 2.3 million hospitalizations of people who had used marijuana for recreational purposes. Of this total, 32,231 patients, or 1.4%, had a stroke.

More stroke among smokers as the overall number of stroke remains stable

In the five years studied, the rate of stroke of all types among marijuana users increased from 1.3% to 1.5%. During the same period, the number of strokes in all patients remained stable.

The researchers conclude that these growing trends in stroke among marijuana users "warrant further prospective studies to evaluate the cannabis-stroke badociation in legalizing recreational use." The researchers pointed out in their study that marijuana "has a potential link to stroke because of the cerebrovascular effects of cannabinoids".

Young survivors of stroke have a higher risk of recurrence

A high percentage of stroke, estimated between 8 and 21%, is for adults under 45 years of age. A Canadian study attempted to determine the risk of recurrence in these young patients with no complications after their first stroke.

This badysis of more than 26,000 young stroke survivors showed that these patients were seven times more likely to have an undesirable complication one year after their first stroke, compared with only twice as many as in older patients. After taking into account other vascular risk factors, the long-term risks remained almost three times higher.

A need for prevention to reduce the risk

"This study shows that even young stroke patients remain at significant risk for adverse events, such as stroke, death, or the need for long-term care," said Dr. Jodi Edwards. , lead author of the study. "This is important because it highlights the need for long-term prevention guidelines and strategies to reduce the risk of stroke in young stroke patients," he concludes.