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Published on: February 26, 2013
Cannabis use disorder among atrial fibrillation admissions, 2008-2018
Fouad Chouairi1, P Elliott Miller2, Avirup Guha3
1Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Insights
Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is increasingly common in atrial fibrillation (AF) hospitalizations, especially among younger and underserved populations. This trend highlights the need for further research into CUD
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
- Addiction Medicine
Background:
- Cannabis use disorder (CUD) prevalence is rising amid changing legal landscapes.
- Limited data exists on the association between CUD and inpatient atrial fibrillation (AF) hospitalizations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of AF hospitalizations with a codiagnosis of CUD.
- To analyze demographic, socioeconomic, and comorbidity differences between AF patients with and without CUD.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database.
- Identified AF hospitalizations with and without CUD using ICD diagnosis codes.
- Compared patient demographics, socioeconomic factors, comorbidities, and outcomes.
Main Results:
- Between 2008-2018, 0.6% of 5.1 million AF admissions had a CUD codiagnosis.
- The proportion of AF admissions with CUD increased from 0.3% to 1.0% (p < .001).
- CUD patients were younger (53 vs. 72 years), more likely Black (26.6% vs. 8.0%), and from lower income quartiles (40.5% vs. 26.2%).
Conclusions:
- CUD is a growing concern in AF hospitalizations, particularly affecting younger and underserved demographics.
- Findings underscore the need to understand CUD's impact on AF patient populations.
- Evolving cannabis legislation necessitates further research into CUD and AF comorbidities.
Background:
Despite changes inthe legality of cannabis use and the increasing prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD), there is little data investigating the association between CUD and inpatient atrial fibrillation (AF) hospitalizations.
Methods:
Using the National Inpatient Sample, we identified Atrial Fibrillation (AF) hospitalizations with and without a codiagnosis of CUD using International Classification of Diseases diagnosis codes and compared demographics, socioeconomics, comorbidities, outcomes, and trends between cohorts.
Results:
Between 2008 and 2018, we identified 5,155,789 admissions for AF of which 31,768 (0.6%) had a codiagnosis of CUD. The proportion of admissions with a history of CUD increased from 0.3% in 2008 to 1.0% in 2018 (p < .001). Hospital discharges of patients with CUD were significantly younger (53 vs. 72 years, p < .001), had a higher proportion of black race (CUD: 26.6% vs. 8.0%, p < .001), and had a higher proportion of income in the lowest income quartile than without a codiagnosis of CUD (CUD: 40.5% vs. 26.2%, p < .001).
Conclusions:
CUD is increasingly prevalent among AF hospitalizations, particularly among young patients. Codiagnosis of CUD in AF hospitalizations is also more common in underserved patients. As a result, it is important for future research to examine and understand the impact of CUD on this population, particularly in the light of changing legislation surrounding the legality of cannabis.
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