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Marijuana associated with three-fold risk of death from hypertension
Marijuana use is associated with a three-fold risk of death from
hypertension, according to research published recently in the
European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
‘Steps are being taken towards legalisation and
decriminalisation of marijuana in the United States, and rates
of recreational marijuana use may increase substantially as a
result’, said lead author Barbara A Yankey, a PhD student in the
School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, US.
‘However, there is little research on the impact of marijuana use
on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular mortality.’
In the absence of longitudinal data on marijuana use, the
researchers designed a retrospective follow-up study of NHANES
(National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) involving
participants aged 20 years and older. In 2005–2006, participants
were asked if they had ever used marijuana. Those who answered
‘yes’ were considered marijuana users. Participants reported the
age when they first tried marijuana and this was subtracted from
their current age to calculate the duration of use.
Information on marijuana use was merged with mortality
data in 2011 from the National Centre for Health Statistics. The
researchers estimated the associations of marijuana use and
duration of use with death from hypertension, heart disease
and cerebrovascular disease, controlling for cigarette use and
demographic variables including gender, age and ethnicity. Death
from hypertension included multiple causes such as primary
hypertension and hypertensive renal disease.
Among a total of 1 213 participants, 34% used neither
marijuana nor cigarettes, 21% used only marijuana, 20% used
marijuana and smoked cigarettes, 16% used marijuana and
were past-smokers, 5% were past-smokers and 4% only smoked
cigarettes. The average duration of marijuana use was 11.5 years.
Marijuana users had a higher risk of dying from hypertension.
Compared to non-users, marijuana users had a 3.42-times higher
risk of death from hypertension and a 1.04 greater risk for each
year of use. There was no association between marijuana use and
death from heart disease or cerebrovascular disease.
Ms Yankey pointed out that there were limitations to the way
marijuana use was estimated. For example, it cannot be certain
that participants used marijuana continuously since they first
tried it.
She said: ‘Our results suggest a possible risk of hypertension
mortality from marijuana use. This is not surprising since
marijuana is known to have a number of effects on the
cardiovascular system. Marijuana stimulates the sympathetic
nervous system, leading to increases in heart rate, blood pressure
and oxygen demand. Emergency rooms have reported cases of
angina and heart attacks after marijuana use.’
‘We found higher estimated cardiovascular risks associated
with marijuana use than cigarette smoking’, said Ms Yankey.
‘This indicates that marijuana use may carry even heavier
consequences on the cardiovascular system than that already
established for cigarette smoking. However, the number of
smokers in our study was small and this needs to be examined
in a larger study.’
‘Needless to say, the detrimental effects of marijuana on brain
function far exceed that of cigarette smoking’, she added. Ms
Yankey said it was crucial to understand the effects of marijuana
on health so that policy makers and individuals could make
informed decisions.
She said: ‘Support for liberal marijuana use is partly due to
claims that it is beneficial and possibly not harmful to health.
With the impending increase in recreational marijuana use it is
important to establish whether any health benefits outweigh the
potential health, social and economic risks. If marijuana use is
implicated in cardiovascular diseases and deaths, then it rests on
the health community and policy makers to protect the public.’
Source
: European Society of Cardiology Press Office