Posted on 06/24/2024 10:16:37 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Hospitalization risk 80% higher versus nonusers
Cannabis use was significantly associated with a greater risk of severe outcomes following a COVID-19 infection, according to a retrospective study that spanned the first 2 years of the pandemic.
Among more than 70,000 patients with a documented case of COVID at a large medical center in the Midwest, use of cannabis was linked with an 80% greater risk of hospitalization and a 27% higher risk for intensive care unit (ICU) admission after an infection, but no difference in all-cause mortality:
Hospitalization: OR 1.80 (95% CI 1.68-1.93)
ICU admission: OR 1.27 (95% CI 1.14-1.41)
Mortality: OR 0.97 (95% CI 0.82-1.14)
The elevated risks for hospitalization and ICU admission were about on par with that of smoking, reported Li-Shiun Chen, MD, MPH, ScD, of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and coauthors.
The electronic health record (EHR)-based study, published in JAMA Network Openopens in a new tab or window, also confirmed the established link between tobacco smoking and increased risks for serious outcomes from COVID. That association was observed both in current and former smokers and included a higher risk for mortality.
"There's this sense among the public that cannabis is safe to use, that it's not as bad for your health as smoking or drinking, that it may even be good for you," Chen said in a press releaseopens in a new tab or window. "I think that's because there hasn't been as much research on the health effects of cannabis as compared to tobacco or alcohol."
"What we found is that cannabis use is not harmless in the context of COVID-19," Chen continued. "People who reported yes to current cannabis use, at any frequency, were more likely to require hospitalization and intensive care than those who did not use cannabis."
Despite being more than 4 years into the pandemic, the question of cannabis use and COVID-19 severity remained unsettled. One prior study suggested that cannabis users were more likely to catch COVID and have worse survivalopens in a new tab or window when they did, while another study found that active users had better clinical outcomesopens in a new tab or window after a COVID hospitalization compared with nonusers.
In the current study, about 10% of the cohort reported cannabis use, which was defined as having answered yes to the question: "Have you used cannabis in the past year?" As a result, no details on the method of cannabis use (smoking, vaping, edibles) or frequency of use were available.
"That gave us enough information to establish that if you use cannabis, your healthcare journey will be different, but we can't know how much cannabis you have to use, or whether it makes a difference whether you smoke it or eat edibles," said coauthor Nicholas Griffith, MD, also of Washington University, in the release.
As noted, current and former tobacco smoking were both associated with increased risks for hospitalization, ICU admission, and all-cause mortality following a COVID infection:
Hospitalization: current (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.62-1.82) and former (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.21-1.33) ICU admission: current (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.10-1.34) and former (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.16-1.33) Mortality: current (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.20-1.57) and former (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.30-1.55) "The main message for the public ... is to try and reduce risk factors as much as possible," said Edward Jones-Lopez, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Keck Medicine of USC in Los Angeles, who was not involved in the research. "These two are modifiable risk factors -- meaning there is a way to stop smoking, there is a way to stop using cannabis."
Discussing the findings on smoking, Aaron Friedberg, MD, of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, who also was not involved in the study, pointed out that tobacco is the biggest avoidable cause of disease and death.
"It directly damages the respiratory system and causes damage to many areas of the body such as the heart, blood vessels, brain, and other organs that can also be damaged in COVID-19," he told MedPage Today. "This could be both a case of additive damage from the combination of tobacco use and COVID-19, and also possibly increased vulnerability to severe infection from tobacco use that further increases the damage from COVID-19."
The study from Chen and colleagues included 72,501 patients identified as having COVID-19 during at least one medical visit from February 2020 to January 2022 at BJC HealthCare hospitals and clinics in Missouri and Illinois, the bulk of whom (n=40,180) were diagnosed from July 2021 onward. Of those, 70.4% were hospitalized, 6.5% were admitted to the ICU, and 3.7% died.
Patients had a mean age of 49 years (range 12 to 90), 60% were female, and 69% had at least one comorbidity. Most were white (70%) and 28% were Black. Over 70% had not been vaccinated prior to their COVID diagnosis.
Regarding substance use, 13.4% were current smokers, 24.4% former smokers, and 9.7% reported cannabis use (individuals were excluded if their smoking status was not noted in the EHR).
Analyses were adjusted for various factors, including age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance, comorbidities, cannabis or tobacco use, date of the COVID diagnosis, and whether a dose of vaccine was received before a diagnosis.
Limitations cited by the authors included the study timeframe, that substance use data relied on patient-reported information and lacked detail on type and frequency, and that some factors such as a patient's mental health status were not included.
Elizabeth Short is a staff writer for MedPage Today. She often covers pulmonology and allergy & immunology. Follow
Congested lungs due to #lungsedding aka #geoengineering
#lungseeding
It also leads to 0 brain cells!!
Deep State’s cool with this.
They’ll have to smoke more of it to alleviate the symptoms. 🤪
Science is sure about that.
Alcohol doesn’t either but it does destroy dendtrites in the brain.
Dendtrites help to carry neurons(messages) to the brain.
Alcohol interferes with the brains ability to do that.
In AA we used to call people like this ‘’wet brains’’.
As real freedoms decrease, pseudo ones increase. Bratish, stoned, dumbed down populaces are easier to control.
Could it be because COVID is a respiratory disease?
If this was anywhere near accurate, I would be dead several times over right now.
When it comes to marijuana and Covid, I trust my personal physician over some hack writer from something called MedPage Today.
I wonder if there are statistics for tobacco smokers?
Back in 2021, there were studies claiming cannabis PROTECTED against COVID. While any type of smoking would seem to be a risk factor for a respiratory disease, the current state of research is a joke. You get the result you pay for...
Cannabis use linked to worse COVID-19 outcomes
Stephanie Soucheray, MA June 21, 2024
COVID-19
pot smoking
Daria Kulkova/iStock
Cannabis use is linked to an increased risk of more serious COVID-19 outcomes, including hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) admission—similar to risks from tobacco use—according to a study today in JAMA Network Open from researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
As cannabis use becomes legal in many states and is used for medical purposes, the drug has developed somewhat of a “health halo,” with many Americans considering it healthier than tobacco or alcohol.
“What we found is that cannabis use is not harmless in the context of COVID-19. People who reported yes to current cannabis use, at any frequency, were more likely to require hospitalization and intensive care than those who did not use cannabis,” said senior study author Li-Shiun Chen, MD, MPH, ScD, in a press release from Washington University School of Medicine.
The study, based on outcomes among 72,501 people seen for COVID-19 at centers in a major Midwestern healthcare system during the first 2 years of the pandemic, offers an important take on the risks associated with cannabis use, especially in comparison to tobacco use.
Among the study participants, 51,006 (70.4%) needed hospitalization, 4,725 (6.5%) required an ICU visit, and 2,717 (3.7%) died. The average age was 48.9 years, 59.7% were female and 40.3% male, 27.6% were Black, and 69.6% were White.
In total, 68.8% had at least one comorbidity that was identified as potentially affecting COVID-19 outcomes, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
The authors found that, of the study participants, 13.4% currently smoked; 24.4% formerly smoked; and 9.7% reported current use of cannabis.
gain of function and bio-weapons research programs Use Tied to Increased Risk of Severe COVID..
Watch the Special Report tonight at 9pm
I come from a family of alcoholics and I’m aware of wet brains. My beautiful, mother had to be carted off to the nursing home with Korsakov’s Syndrome, AKA wet brain. Yep, Slow Joe is almost that bad.
I’m not a drinker, but read a wonderful book”. Eat to Beat Disease”. by Wm Li, MD. He considers beer a superfood, as it cleans out arteries without raising your blood pressure, as wine does. I don’t like beer, but found one I can stand, drink 4 ounces per night. Hope I’m not frying my brain.
I thought it was infringed citizens. #2A
The right to infringe shall not be limited.
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