A new study published in the Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases found that cannabis use is associated with significantly improved outcomes, including reduced in-hospital mortality, among patients hospitalized with chronic pancreatitis.
Researchers from multiple universities and research hospitals, include Duke University, the University of California, and the University of Texas, analyzed data from 907,790 hospitalized patients with chronic pancreatitis between 2016 and 2020, using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Of those, 52,360 (5.8%) were cannabis users.
The study evaluated outcomes including mortality, ICU admission, risk of blood clots (DVT and PE), and pancreatic cancer. After adjusting for age, comorbidities, and other factors, cannabis users had a notably lower risk of poor outcomes. According to the abstract, “cannabis use was associated with decreased odds of mortality (aOR=0.47, p<0.001), DVT (aOR=0.71, p<0.001), PE (aOR=0.622, p=0.002), ICU admission (aOR=0.705, p<0.001), [and] pancreatic cancer (aOR=0.730, p=0.021).”
There was no significant difference in rates of acute kidney injury, sepsis, or acute pancreatitis between cannabis users and non-users.
Researchers conclude by saying “Our study found that cannabis use is associated with reduced disease severity and better outcomes among patients hospitalized with CP. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and explore the role of cannabinoids in pancreatitis.”
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