Black and Hispanic men with chronic conditions and higher levels of pain, stress, and poorer mental and physical health report higher rates of cannabis use. The corresponding study was published in the Journal of Community Health.
“We believe our study is the first to focus exclusively on these associations among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic men with chronic conditions — groups that experience chronic disease at higher rates and may be increasingly turning to cannabis as an alternative to prescription medication,” said lead author of the study, Benjamin Montemayor, PhD, Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University’s School of Public Health in a press release.
In the current study, researchers analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 1, 982 non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic men aged 40 years and older with at least one chronic condition. The participants shared how many days they used cannabis in the last 30 days as well as whether they had been diagnosed with any of 19 chronic health conditions that patients often attempt to treat with cannabis. These include arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, and depression or anxiety.
The researchers also gathered information on the number of physically and mentally unhealthy days experienced in the last month, the severity of their pain and stress, and their overall quality of life.
Altogether, 21.3% of the men reported current cannabis use. Chronic pain, depression or anxiety, and arthritis were correlated with higher rates of use. More chronic conditions, higher stress, and greater pain were also linked to higher rates of use. Almost half of the men reported recreational use.
The researchers reported that current cannabis users tended to be younger, have lower levels of education, and have lower annual household income than non-users. They also had a lower quality of life, including more days of poor physical and mental health, higher levels of physical pain, and more stress.
“This could suggest a two-way relationship, which could be determined by a longitudinal study. Individuals with declining health or more chronic conditions may be likely to use cannabis, but cannabis use itself could also contribute to worsening physical and mental health over time,” said Montemayor.
“Important questions about the safety and effectiveness of cannabis continue to emerge as policies on cannabis and CBD legality remain in flux in some states, more people are diagnosed with chronic conditions and concern about managing multiple prescriptions is growing,” he concluded.
Sources: EurekAlert, Journal of Community Health