, new observational research suggests. “Our analysis shows young marijuana users with a history of stroke or transient ischemic attack remain at significantly high risk for future strokes,” said lead study author Akhil Jain, MD, a resident physician at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, Pennsylvania.
“It’s essential to raise awareness among young adults about the impact of chronic habitual use of marijuana, especially if they have established cardiovascular risk factors or previous stroke.”
The study will be presented during the International Stroke Conference, presented by the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association.
An increasing number of jurisdictions are allowing marijuana use. To date, 18 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational cannabis use, the investigators noted.
Research suggests cannabis use disorder – defined as the chronic habitual use of cannabis – is more prevalent in the young adult population. But Dr. Jain said the population of marijuana users is “a changing dynamic.”
Cannabis use has been linked to an increased risk for first-time stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Traditional stroke risk factors include hypertension, diabetes, and diseases related to blood vessels or blood circulation, including atherosclerosis.
Young adults might have additional stroke risk factors, such as behavioral habits like substance abuse, low physical activity, and smoking, oral contraceptives use among females, and brain infections, especially in the immunocompromised, said Dr. Jain.
Research from the American Heart Association shows stroke rates are increasing among adults 18 to 45 years of age. Each year, young adults account for up to 15% of strokes in the United States.
Prevalence and risk for recurrent stroke in patients with previous stroke or TIA in cannabis users have not been clearly established, the researchers pointed out.
A higher rate of recurrent stroke
For this new study, Dr. Jain and colleagues used data from the National Inpatient Sample from October 2015 to December 2017. They identified hospitalizations among young adults 18 to 45 years of age with a previous history of stroke or TIA.
They then grouped these patients into those with cannabis use disorder (4,690) and those without cannabis use disorder (156,700). The median age in both cohorts was 37 years.
The analysis did not include those who were considered in remission from cannabis use disorder.
Results showed that 6.9% of those with cannabis use disorder were hospitalized for a recurrent stroke, compared with 5.4% of those without cannabis use disorder (P < .001).
After adjustment for demographic factors (age, sex, race, household income), and pre-existing conditions, patients with cannabis use disorder were 48% more likely to be hospitalized for recurrent stroke than those without cannabis use disorder (odds ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.28-1.71; P < .001).
Compared with the group without cannabis use disorder, the cannabis use disorder group had more men (55.2% vs. 40.2%), more African American people (44.6% vs. 37.2%), and more use of tobacco (73.9% vs. 39.6%) and alcohol (16.5% vs. 3.6%). They also had a greater percentage of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, and psychoses.
But a smaller percentage of those with cannabis use disorder had hypertension (51.3% vs. 55.6%; P = .001) and diabetes (16.3% vs. 22.7%; P < .001), which is an “interesting” finding, said Dr. Jain.
“We observed that even with a lower rate of cardiovascular risk factors, after controlling for all the risk factors, we still found the cannabis users had a higher rate of recurrent stroke.”
He noted this was a retrospective study without a control group. “If both groups had comparable hypertension, then this risk might actually be more evident,” said Dr. Jain. “We need a prospective study with comparable groups.”
Living in low-income neighborhoods and in northeast and southern regions of the United States was also more common in the cannabis use disorder group.