Cannabis use may quadruple risk of developing diabetes — Study

Cannabis use is linked to an almost quadrupling in the risk of developing diabetes, a new study has said.

The research, presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria, said cannabis users are at nearly four times greater risk of developing diabetes than non-users.

The study led by Dr. Ibrahim Kamel from Boston Medical Centre in Massachusetts, USA, examined electronic health records from 54 healthcare organisations in the US and Europe.

It reported that cannabis may increase diabetes risk by promoting insulin resistance and unhealthy eating habits.

It identified 96,795 outpatients aged between 18 and 50 with cannabis-related diagnoses between 2010 and 2018. These ranged from occasional use to dependence and included diagnoses related to cannabis intoxication and withdrawal.

These patients were then compared to a control group of over four million healthy individuals who had no record of substance use or major chronic conditions at the start of the study.

After controlling for various lifestyle risk factors like cholesterol, cocaine use, alcohol use and uncontrolled high blood pressure, the researchers found that new cases of diabetes were significantly higher in the cannabis group (2.2%) than in the healthy group (0.6%).

Statistical analysis showed that cannabis users are at nearly four times greater risk of developing diabetes than non-users.

Dr Kamel said as cannabis becomes more widely available and socially accepted, it is essential to understand its potential health risks.

The authors note that more research is needed on the long-term endocrine effects of cannabis use and whether diabetes risks are limited to inhaled products or other forms of cannabis, such as edibles.

He stressed the importance of integrating diabetes risk awareness into substance use disorder treatment and counselling, as well as routine discussions about cannabis use between healthcare professionals and patients.

The researchers note that more research is needed on the long-term endocrine effects of cannabis use and whether diabetes risks are limited to inhaled products or other forms of cannabis, such as edibles.

Despite the important findings, this is a retrospective study and cannot prove that cannabis use causes diabetes. The authors cannot rule out the possibility that other unmeasured factors may have influenced the results, despite efforts to reduce confounding bias via propensity score matching.

Cannabis use is increasing globally, with an estimated 219 million users (4.3% of the global adult population) in 2021, but its long-term metabolic effects remain unknown.

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