Long term cannabis use can increase the risk of dementia, according to a large study of more than 6 million people published April 14 in the journal JAMA Neurology.
“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,” said study coauthor Dr. Daniel Myran, an assistant professor in the department of family medicine at the University of Ottawa in Canada.
“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,” Myran said.
Earlier research shows marijuana users are nearly 25% more likely to need emergency care and hospitalization than nonusers.
“However, this is not a study that anyone should look at and say, ‘Jury’s in, and cannabis use causes dementia,’” Myran said. “This is a study that brings up a concerning association that fits within a growing body of research.”
A red flag
The study is a red flag for health professionals who should be screening for cannabis use disorder, said Dr. Robert Page II, a professor of clinical pharmacy and physical medicine at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Aurora.
“People with cannabis use disorder are unable to stop using even though they encounter health or social problems from use,” said Page, who chaired the medical writing group for the American Heart Association’s 2020 scientific statement on marijuana.
“When they stop using it, they either have withdrawal symptoms or have very bad mental health symptoms,” he added. “They might have quite severe depression, or they might have anxiety, all of which can send them to the hospital.”
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