ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2014
No detectable association between frequency of marijuana use and health or healthcare utilization among primary care patients who screen positive for drug use.
Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Scoping Review and Meta-Analysis Suggests thatCannabis and cannabinoid research · 2021Pooled it
- Longitudinal analysis of symptoms and healthcare utilization among daily cannabis-using persons living with HIV: impact of co-occurring cocaine use.Journal of cannabis research · 2026Article
- Associations of Healthcare Service Utilization With Cannabis Use Status, Use Reasons, and Use Characteristics Among Those Age 50 and Older.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2022Article
- Cannabis use, other drug use, and risk of subsequent acute care in primary care patients.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2020Article
- The role of marijuana use disorder in predicting emergency department and inpatient encounters: A retrospective cohort study.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2017Article
- Marijuana use and inpatient outcomes among hospitalized patients: analysis of the nationwide inpatient sample database.Cancer medicine · 2017Article
- Comparing adults who use cannabis medically with those who use recreationally: Results from a national sample.Addictive behaviors · 2016Article
- Cannabis Abuse Is Increasing and Associated with Increased Emergency Department Utilization in Gastroenterology Patients.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2016Article
- The spectrum of unhealthy drug use and quality of care for hypertension and diabetes: a longitudinal cohort study.BMJ open · 2015Article
- Changes in health outcomes as a function of abstinence and reduction in illicit psychoactive drug use: a prospective study in primary care.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2015Article
- Chronic opioid therapy urine drug testing in primary care: prevalence and predictors of aberrant results.Journal of general internal medicine · 2014Observational
- Marijuana use and health in primary care.Journal of general internal medicine · 2014Article
- Marijuana use and health in primary care.Journal of general internal medicine · 2014Article
- Capsule commentary on Fuster et al., no detectable association between frequency of marijuana use and health or healthcare utilization among patients who screen positive for drug use.Journal of general internal medicine · 2014Article
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6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMarijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, yet its impact on health and healthcare utilization has not been studied extensively.
methodsTo assess the cross-sectional association between frequency of marijuana use and healthcare utilization (emergency department and hospitalization) and health (comorbidity, health status), we studied patients in an urban primary care clinic who reported any recent (past 3-month) drug use (marijuana, opioids, cocaine, others) on screening. Frequency of marijuana use in the past 3 months was the main independent variable [daily/ almost daily, less than daily and no use (reference group)]. Outcomes assessed were past 3-month emergency department or hospital utilization, the presence of medical comorbidity (Charlson index ≥ 1), and health status with the EuroQol. We used separate multivariable regression models adjusting for age, sex, tobacco and other substance use.
resultsAll 589 participants reported recent drug use: marijuana 84 % (29 % daily, 55 % less than daily), cocaine 25 %, opioid 23 %, other drugs 8 %; 58 % reported exclusive marijuana use. Frequency of marijuana use was not significantly associated with emergency department use {adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.67, [95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.36, 1.24] for daily; AOR 0.69 [95 % CI 0.40,1.18] for less than daily versus no use}, hospitalization [AOR 0.79 (95 % CI 0.35, 1.81) for daily; AOR 1.23 (95 % CI 0.63, 2.40) for less than daily versus no use], any comorbidity [AOR 0.62, (95 % CI 0.33, 1.18) for daily; AOR 0.67 (95 % CI 0.38, 1.17) for less than daily versus no use] or health status (adjusted mean EuroQol 69.1, 67.8 and 68.0 for daily, less than daily and none, respectively, global p = 0.78).
conclusionsAmong adults in primary care who screen positive for any recent illicit or non-medical prescription drug use, we were unable to detect an association between frequency of marijuana use and health, emergency department use, or hospital utilization.
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