Abstract
BACKGROUND: Evidence on the cardiovascular health
effects of cannabis use is limited. We designed a prospective cohort study of older Veterans (66 to 68 years) with
coronary artery disease (CAD) to understand the cardiovascular 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 consequences 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 smokers and 3,270 non-cannabis smokers with CAD.
MAIN MEASURES: Using logistic regression, we examined the association of baseline variables with smoking
cannabis in the past 30 days.
RESULTS: The current cannabis smokers and noncurrent 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% confidence 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 behavioral risk, but with fewer chronic health conditions
