A new study finds that cannabis use increases a person’s risk of COVID-related complications. COVID-19 hospitalization and ICU risks associated with cannabis use are “at the same level as tobacco and comparable to having a high BMI (body mass index) and diabetes,” Dr. Li-Shiun Chen, professor of psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine, told The Epoch Times.
Cannabis use, however, was not associated with increased risk of COVID-related death, the authors noted. The study evaluated electronic health records of over 72,000 COVID-19 patients to see if their substance use influenced disease outcomes. Independent of each other, tobacco smoking and cannabis are both risk factors for worse COVID-19 outcomes, the study found.
This suggests that a person who both smokes and uses cannabis is at double the risk of worse outcomes than if they only do one, Dr. Chen said. These proportions were comparable to overall U.
S. prevalence: Around 12 percent of Americans smoke, and 17 percent use cannabis. The research authors noted that while cannabis use is associated with increased COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions, it was not associated with increased risks of mortality.
“For the risk of death, tobacco risk is clear but more evidence is needed for cannabis,” Dr. Chen said in the press release. The study could not explore why cannabis may be associated with an increased risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes.
Dr. Chen said that their study is based on crude elec.
