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High-intensity cannabis use and hospitalization: a prospective cohort study of street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada Reddon, Hudson; Milloy, M-J; Wood, Evan; Nosova, Ekaterina; Kerr, Thomas; DeBeck, Kora

Abstract

Background: There is concern that cannabis use negatively affects vulnerable groups such as youth; however, the relationship between cannabis use and health care utilization has not been well characterized in this population. We longitudinally evaluated the association between daily cannabis use and hospitalization among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth. Methods: Data were collected from the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS) in Vancouver, Canada, from September 2005 to May 2015. Participants were interviewed semi-annually and multivariable generalized estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between daily cannabis use and hospitalization. Results: A total of 1216 participants (31.2% female) were included in this analysis, and 373 (30.7%) individuals reported hospitalization at some point during the study period. In a multivariable GEE analysis, daily cannabis use was not significantly associated with hospitalization (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 1.17, 95% Confidence interval [CI] = 0.84, 1.65). We did observe a significant interaction between daily cannabis use and sex (AOR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.34, 0.77), whereby cannabis use was associated with a decreased odds of hospitalization among males (AOR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.47, 0.78), yet was not significantly associated with hospitalization among females (AOR = 1.19, 95% CI = 0.84, 1.67). Conclusions: The finding that daily cannabis use was not associated with hospitalization among street-involved youth is encouraging given the high rates of cannabis use in this population and the expansion of cannabis legalization and regulation. Future studies, however, are warranted to monitor possible changes in the consequences of cannabis use as cannabis legalization and regulation increase internationally.

Item Metadata

Title
High-intensity cannabis use and hospitalization: a prospective cohort study of street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada
Creator
Reddon, Hudson; Milloy, M-J; Wood, Evan; Nosova, Ekaterina; Kerr, Thomas; DeBeck, Kora
Contributor
British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. British Columbia Centre on Substance Use; St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver, B.C.)
Publisher
BioMed Central
Date Issued
2021-05-17
Description
Background: There is concern that cannabis use negatively affects vulnerable groups such as youth; however, the relationship between cannabis use and health care utilization has not been well characterized in this population. We longitudinally evaluated the association between daily cannabis use and hospitalization among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth. Methods: Data were collected from the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS) in Vancouver, Canada, from September 2005 to May 2015. Participants were interviewed semi-annually and multivariable generalized estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between daily cannabis use and hospitalization. Results: A total of 1216 participants (31.2% female) were included in this analysis, and 373 (30.7%) individuals reported hospitalization at some point during the study period. In a multivariable GEE analysis, daily cannabis use was not significantly associated with hospitalization (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 1.17, 95% Confidence interval [CI] = 0.84, 1.65). We did observe a significant interaction between daily cannabis use and sex (AOR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.34, 0.77), whereby cannabis use was associated with a decreased odds of hospitalization among males (AOR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.47, 0.78), yet was not significantly associated with hospitalization among females (AOR = 1.19, 95% CI = 0.84, 1.67). Conclusions: The finding that daily cannabis use was not associated with hospitalization among street-involved youth is encouraging given the high rates of cannabis use in this population and the expansion of cannabis legalization and regulation. Future studies, however, are warranted to monitor possible changes in the consequences of cannabis use as cannabis legalization and regulation increase internationally.
Subject
Cannabis; Hospitalization; Illicit drug use; At-risk youth; Prospective cohort study
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2021-05-20
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
DOI
10.14288/1.0398096
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/78394
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Other UBC; Non UBC; Medicine, Department of
Citation
Harm Reduction Journal. 2021 May 17;18(1):53
Publisher DOI
10.1186/s12954-021-00501-8
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
The Author(s)
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)