Association between cannabis use and risk of metabolic disease in UK biobank.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The rising global burden of metabolic diseases-including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-underscores the urgency of understanding their modifiable risk factors, including cannabis use. We aimed to investigate the association between cannabis use and risk of metabolic diseases across different body mass index levels.

METHODS AND

RESULTS

We analyzed 91,002 UK Biobank participants without prevalent metabolic diseases at baseline. Multivariable Cox models evaluated associations between cannabis use and incident metabolic diseases. After adjustment, cannabis use was associated with modestly lower observed risks of overall metabolic disease (aHR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.89-0.99), hypertension (aHR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.87-1.00), type 2 diabetes (aHR = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.69-0.99), and obesity (heavy users: aHR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.41-0.78). Significant BMI interactions were observed (P < 0.01), with inverse associations more evident among individuals with BMI<25. In participants with BMI>30, moderate use was associated with increased risk of metabolic disease (aHR = 1.26) and hypertension (aHR = 1.40). No significant associations were observed for hyperlipidemia or NAFLD.

CONCLUSION

Cannabis use was associated with modestly lower observed risks of several metabolic outcomes, particularly among individuals with BMI<25. Associations varied by BMI and attenuated in higher BMI groups. Findings should be interpreted cautiously given the observational design.