Marijuana use tested in adults with medical conditions

According to a study published in issue 259, people with health problems were more likely to report using marijuana than others. JAMA Network open now.

To investigate the prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among US adults, researchers used data from the behavioral risk factor surveillance systems (N = 169,036) from 2016 and 2017, which collect data on behavioral behaviors. risk related to health, medical conditions and the use of the product. preventive services; for this study, they focused on current consumption (defined as use in the last month) and daily consumption (defined as consumption of more than 20 days in the last 30 days).

The results showed that, compared to adults without medical condition, people with conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), arthritis, cancer and depression were more likely to report current marijuana use. However, it has been observed that the prevalence of current and daily use decreases with age; 11.2% of adults aged 18 to 24 with medical conditions reported daily marijuana use, compared to 0.9% of adults aged 65 and over.

Smoking was the main method of administering marijuana in adults with and without medical conditions. "There is concern that the vast majority (77.5%) of marijuana users with medical conditions use marijuana while smoking," the authors said. Among those with health problems, 45.5% of respondents indicated that medical reasons were the sole purpose of marijuana use.

"Clinicians should research marijuana use among their patients and open discussions with them about the benefits and risks of marijuana for their comorbid conditions and long-term health," the authors concluded.

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