Observational studyBMJ mental health2024
Association between cannabis use and brain structure and function: an observational and Mendelian randomisation study.
Observational study in BMJ mental health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Investigating Bidirectional Causal Relationships Between Imaging-Derived Brain Phenotypes and Sedative-Hypnotic Use Disorder: A Mendelian Randomization Study.Addiction biology · 2026Article
- Opioid use disorder and dementia risk: evidence from observational and genetic analyses in diverse ancestry cohorts.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Brain Structure and Substance Use: Disentangling Risk, Exposure, and Drug-Specific Effects.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Cannabis use, cognitive function and dementia risk in older adults: observational and genetic analyses.BMJ mental health · 2026Article
- What Do Thirty Years of Neuroimaging Research Tell Us About Recreational Cannabis Use and Brain Integrity? A Narrative Review of the Multimodal Neuroimaging Evidence to Date.Substance abuse and rehabilitation · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood has been associated with brain harm, yet despite a rapid increase in cannabis use among older adults in the past decade, the impact on brain health in this population remains understudied.
objectiveTo explore observational and genetic associations between cannabis use and brain structure and function.
methodsWe examined 3641 lifetime cannabis users (mean (SD) age 61.0 (7.1) years) and 12 255 controls (mean (SD) age 64.5 (7.5) years) from UK Biobank. Brain structure and functional connectivity were measured using multiple imaging-derived phenotypes. Associations with cannabis use were assessed using multiple linear regression controlling for potential confounds. Bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomisation analyses were used to investigate potential causal relationships.
findingsCannabis use was associated with multiple measures of brain structure and function. Participants with a history of cannabis use had poorer white matter integrity, as assessed by lower fractional anisotropy and higher mean diffusivity in the genu of the corpus callosum, as well as weaker resting-state functional connectivity in brain regions underlying the default mode and central executive networks. Mendelian randomisation analyses found no support for causal relationships underlying associations between cannabis use and brain structure or function.
conclusionsAssociations between lifetime cannabis use and brain structure and function in later life are probably not causal in nature and might represent residual confounding. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Cannabis use is associated with differences in brain structure and function. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying these associations, which do not appear to be causal.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.