The Heart and Cannabis (THC) Cohort: Differences in Baseline Health and Behaviors by Cannabis Use

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the cardiovascular health
effects of cannabis use is limited. We designed a prospec tive cohort study of older Veterans (66 to 68 years) with
coronary artery disease (CAD) to understand the cardio vascular consequences of cannabis use. We describe the
cohort construction, baseline characteristics, and health
behaviors that were associated with smoking cannabis.
OBJECTIVE: To understand the cardiovascular conse quences of cannabis use.
DESIGN: We designed a prospective cohort study of older
Veterans (66 to 68 years) with CAD.
PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1,015 current cannabis smok ers and 3,270 non-cannabis smokers with CAD.
MAIN MEASURES: Using logistic regression, we exam ined the association of baseline variables with smoking
cannabis in the past 30 days.
RESULTS: The current cannabis smokers and non current smokers were predominantly male (97.2% vs
97.1%, p=0.96). Characteristics associated with recent
cannabis use in multivariable analyses included lack of
a high school education (odds ratio [OR] 2.15, 95% confi dence interval [CI]: 1.10 to 4.19), financial difficulty (OR
1.47, 95% CI: 1.02 to 2.11), tobacco use (OR 3.02, 95% CI:
1.66 to 5.48), current drug use (OR 2.82, 95% CI: 1.06 to
7.46), and prior drug use (OR 2.84, 95% CI: 2.11 to 3.82).
In contrast, compared to individuals with 0 to 1 comorbid
conditions, those with 5 chronic conditions or more (OR
0.43, 95% CI: 0.27 to 0.70) were less likely to smoke
cannabis.
CONCLUSIONS: In this older high-risk cohort, smoking
cannabis was associated with higher social and behavior al risk, but with fewer chronic health conditions