Adults who have visited the hospital due to cannabis use could be at a higher risk of developing dementia.
A new study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) found that individuals who had an emergency department visit for using cannabis were at a 23% greater risk of a dementia diagnosis within five years.
People who were hospitalized were at a much larger 72% risk of dementia.
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The study, published in JAMA Neurology, analyzed health data from Ontario, Canada, between 2008 and 2021, in more than six million individuals aged 45 to 105 years old.
The research found that 16,275 of these individuals had acute care due to cannabis use. Sixty percent of these individuals were men, according to a press release.
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The annual rates of incident acute care increased five times between 45 and 64 years old, and 26.7 times in people older than 65.
The individuals who received acute care due to cannabis use retained an elevated risk of dementia compared to the total number of people who received care, excluding cases due to alcohol use.
Lead study author Dr. Daniel Myran, ICES scientist and assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Ottawa, commented on the study findings in an interview with Fox News Digital.
The elevated dementia risk persisted even after other factors were considered, including pre-existing health conditions, socioeconomic status and prior care for other substances or mental health conditions, according to the researcher.
“Because of our study design, it is important to note that this doesn’t mean cannabis use causes dementia, but it highlights a concerning association,” he noted.
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Myran mentioned his surprise at the “very large” increase over time of people aged 45 or older with an ER visit or hospitalization related to cannabis.
“It increased by over five times, from 353 in 2008 to 2,508 in 2021,” he said. “In adults aged 65 or older, it went up 27 times.”
“These trends seem to be capturing major shifts in cannabis use and potential adverse effects.”
The number of older adults with an ER visit or hospitalization who later received a dementia diagnosis was “also surprisingly high,” he said, at 5% at five years and 19% at 10 years.
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One limitation to the study was that the researchers lacked details on patterns of cannabis use and other health behaviors, like smoking.
“As a result, part of the observed increase in risk is likely related to differences in behaviors between groups that we couldn’t account for,” he said.
“We also only examined the risk of dementia for individuals whose cannabis use led to an emergency visit or hospitalization — this is a small and higher-risk subset of all cannabis users and doesn’t tell us about the potential risks of differing patterns of cannabis use,” he added.
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As medical and recreational cannabis use is now legal in many areas, Myran emphasized that it doesn’t mean it’s “without harm.”
“Like alcohol and other substances, cannabis use – especially regular cannabis use or use of higher-strength products – may come with important risks,” he cautioned.
“Our findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that regular cannabis use may have negative impacts on brain health and memory.”
