During the COVID-19 pandemic, “Marijuana smokers had better outcomes and mortality compared to non-users”, according to a new study.
Researchers introduced the study this week at The American College of Chest Physicians’ (CHEST) annual conference, and it was published in the October issue of the Chest Journal.
“Marijuana use is becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide, yet the full spectrum of its effects largely remains unknown”, states the study’s “purpose” section. “Although cannabinoids have immunomodulatory properties, there remains a significant gap in our understanding of the potential impact of marijuana use on COVID-19 outcomes.”
With that in mind, “The purpose of the study is to compare the outcomes of COVID-19 infection on individuals who use marijuana and those who do not.”
For the study National Inpatient Sample Database was used to sample individuals admitted with the diagnosis of COVID-19. Patients were divided into two groups based on marijuana use.
Out of 322,214 patients included in the study, 2,603 were marijuana users. Although marijuana users were younger and had higher prevalence of tobacco use, “other comorbidities including obstructive sleep apnea, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus were more prevalent in marijuana non-users.”
On univariate analysis, marijuana users “had significantly lower rates of intubation (6.8% vs 12%), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (2.1% vs 6%), acute respiratory failure (25% vs 52.9%) and severe sepsis with multiorgan failure (5.8% vs 12%)”, states the study. “They also had lower in-hospital cardiac arrest (1.2% vs 2.7%) and mortality (2.9% vs 13.5%).”
After 1:1 matching, “marijuana users had lower rates of intubation, ARDS (OR: 0.39 [0.26-0.58]; p<0.01), acute respiratory failure, severe sepsis with multiorgan failure and lower mortality.”
Researchers conclude:
Marijuana smokers had better outcomes and mortality compared to non-users. The beneficial effect of marijuana use may be attributed to its potential to inhibit viral entry into cells and prevent the release of proinflammatory cytokines, thus mitigating cytokine release syndrome
The significant decrease in mortality and complications warrants further investigation of the association between marijuana use and COVID-19. Our study highlights a topic of future research for larger trials especially considering the widespread use of marijuana.
