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Prevalence, Perceptions, and Patterns of Cannabis Use Among Cardiac Inpatients at a Tertiary-Care Hospital: A
Kathryn L Walker1, Sarah A Mackler1, Shireen M Noble1
1Division of Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Insights
Cannabis use is common in cardiac patients, with many engaging in high-risk behaviors and showing no plans to quit. Understanding these patterns is crucial for cardiovascular health management and developing safer cannabis use guidelines.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
- Cannabinoid Science
Background:
- Cannabis use may negatively impact cardiovascular health.
- Patterns of cannabis consumption among cardiac patients remain largely unknown.
- This study investigates the prevalence and characteristics of cannabis use in hospitalized cardiac patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of cannabis use in cardiac inpatients.
- To identify factors associated with cannabis use in this population.
- To understand patients' perceptions and patterns of cannabis consumption, including risk behaviors.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional survey of cardiac inpatients conducted between November 2019 and May 2020.
- Data collected via in-person or telephone interviews.
- Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were employed to examine cannabis use characteristics.
Main Results:
- The prevalence of past-12-month cannabis use was 13.8%.
- Factors associated with use included younger age, tobacco use, social cannabis use, and a history of mental health diagnosis.
- Most users (96.7%) exhibited higher-risk behaviors, with low intentions to reduce or quit use.
Conclusions:
- Cannabis use is prevalent among cardiac patients, often involving higher-risk behaviors.
- Cardiac patients using cannabis demonstrate low intentions to cease or reduce consumption.
- Further research is essential to elucidate cannabis's cardiovascular effects and inform guidelines for safer use.
Background:
Cannabis use may adversely affect cardiovascular health. Patterns of use by cardiac patients are unknown. We evaluated the prevalence, perceptions, and patterns of cannabis use among cardiac inpatients.
Methods:
A consecutive cross-section of cardiac inpatients, hospitalized between November 2019 and May 2020, were surveyed in-person or via telephone. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to examine the characteristics of cannabis use.
Results:
The prevalence of past-12-month cannabis use was 13.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.8%-16.0%). Characteristics independently associated with cannabis use were as follows: age < 64 years (< 44 years, odds ratio [OR] = 3.96 [95% CI: 1.65-9.53]; age 45-64 years, OR = 2.72 [95% CI: 1.65-4.47]); tobacco use in the previous 6 months (OR = 1.91 [95% CI: 1.18-3.07]); having a cannabis smoker in one's primary social group (OR = 4.17 [95% CI: 2.73-6.38]); and a history of a mental health diagnosis (OR = 1.82 [95% CI: 1.19-2.79]). Among those using cannabis, 70.5% reported smoking or vaping it; 47.2% reported daily use. Most did not know the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC; 71.6%) or cannabidiol (CBD; 83.3%) content of their cannabis, or the dose of cannabis in their edibles (66.7%). As defined by Canada's Lower Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines, 96.7% of cannabis users reported ≥ 1 higher-risk use behaviour (mean = 2.3, standard deviation = 1.2). Over 60% of patients expressed no intention to quit or reduce cannabis use in the next 6 months.
Conclusions:
Cannabis use appears prevalent among cardiac patients. Most users demonstrated higher-risk use behaviours and low intentions to quit. Further work is needed to understand the impacts of cannabis use on the cardiovascular system and to develop guidelines and educational tools relating to lower-risk use, for cardiac patients and providers.
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