Study claims use of marijuana could lead to potential dementia diagnosis within the next 5 years
Topics: Drugs, Health, Mental Health
Joe Yates
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Image
Topics: Drugs, Health, Mental Health
Cannabis has been determined to be a factor in some cases of dementia, according to a recent study.
With yesterday being 4/20 (April 20), marijuana smokers around the world would have celebrated the day by rolling up a doobie - especially if you live in one of the 24 states where it's legal for recreational use.
Celebrities like Seth Rogen, Snoop Dogg, Miley Cyrus, Whoopi Goldberg, and Wiz Khalifa have helped make it the norm in pop culture, but there are still health conditions that can come about from overusing.
One of those has been determined by researchers of a paper that was published in the National Library of Medicine's journal JAMA Neurology, on Monday last week.
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Having analyzed data from more than six million people, it determined that patients who had been hospitalized in relation to smoking weed are at a greater risk of developing dementia.
“Someone who has an emergency room visit or hospitalization due to cannabis has a 23% increased risk of dementia within five years compared to someone who was at the hospital for another reason. They have a 72% greater risk compared to the general population,” Canadian co-author of the study, Dr. Daniel Myran, explained to CNN.
The assistant professor of the University of Ottawa's the department of family medicine continued: "Those numbers have already factored out other reasons for dementia, such as age, sex, mental health or substance use, and whether or not you have chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease."
Previous research found that weed smoker are 25 percent more likely to be placed into emergency care than those who don't use it.
Myran added: "However, this is not a study that anyone should look at and say, ‘Jury’s in, and cannabis use causes dementia'. This is a study that brings up a concerning association that fits within a growing body of research.”
The abstract of the paper read in part: "Cannabis use is associated with short-term memory impairment and long-term changes in brain structure; however, little is known about whether disordered cannabis use is associated with an increased risk of a dementia diagnosis."
Out of the six million people the study looked at, around 16,000, or 0.3 percent, ended up in the hospital or emergency room because of cannabis use. Most of these people were around 55 years old, and about 60 percent were men.
Between 2008 and 2021, hospital visits related to cannabis went up a lot in both people aged 45 to 64, these visits increased five times, and those aged 65 and older - which went up nearly 27 times.
It found that people who had cannabis-related hospital visits were more likely to be diagnosed with dementia within five years compared to those who went to the hospital for any reason - 1.5 times more likely.
Results found that five percent of people with cannabis-related visits developed dementia, while 3.6 percent of people with general hospital visits developed dementia, with only 1.3 percent of the general population did.
Even after accounting for things like age, health, and lifestyle, the risk of dementia stayed higher in those with cannabis-related hospital visits. But, their risk was actually lower than those who had hospital visits related to alcohol use.