Cannabis - marihuana gebruik vergroot risico op Alzheimer - dementie blijkt uit 14 jarige studie onder meer dan 6 miljoen mensen

Zie ook in gerelateerde artikelen

22 april 2025: Bron: JAMA Neurology 2025 Apr 14

Mensen die regelmatig cannabis - marihuana gebruiken en daarvoor ook soms hulp voor nodig hadden of zelfs voor moesten worden opgenomen in een ziekenhuis lopen vergroot risico op het krijgen van Alzheimer - dementie. Dat blijkt uit de resultaten van een 14 jarige Canadese studie uit de bevolkingsgegevens van meer dan 6 miljoen mensen in de regio Ontario.
Ik moet zeggen dat dit dramatischer klinkt dan blijkt uit het abstract van de studie. Want hoeveel mensen die regelmatig cannabis - marihuana gebruiken blowen zoveel dat ze daarvoor zorg nodig hebben of zelfs moeten worden opgenomen in een ziekenhuis? Zelf heb ik het nog nooit gebruikt maar ken best veel mensen die regelmatig blowen, ook als pijnstilling bv, maar ik heb nog nooit gehoord dat iemand zoveel blowde dat die in het ziekenhuis terecht kwam.

Het abstract van de studie zoals gepubliceerd in JAMA neurology vertaald in het Nederlands:

Aan het onderzoek namen 6.086.794 personen deel, van wie 16.275 (0,3%) acute zorg ontvingen vanwege cannabisgebruik (gemiddelde leeftijd 55,2 [SD 8,3] jaar; 60,3% man).
De jaarlijkse percentages van acute zorgincidenten vanwege cannabisgebruik namen tussen 2008 en 2021 met een factor 5,0 toe bij personen van 45 tot 64 jaar (van 10,16 tot 50,65 per 100.000) en met een factor 26,7 bij personen van 65 jaar of ouder (van 0,65 tot 16,99 per 100.000).
Personen met acute zorgincidenten vanwege cannabisgebruik hadden een 1,5-voudig en 3,9-voudig verhoogd risico op een dementiediagnose binnen 5 jaar in vergelijking met personen met acute zorg om alle oorzaken en de algemene bevolking van dezelfde leeftijd en hetzelfde geslacht (absolute percentages van dementiediagnoses: 5,0% voor cannabisgerelateerde acute zorg, 3,6% voor acute zorg om alle oorzaken en 1,3% in de algemene bevolking).
Na correctie voor sociodemografie en chronische aandoeningen bleven personen met acute zorg vanwege cannabisgebruik een verhoogd risico lopen ten opzichte van personen met acute zorg ongeacht de oorzaak (aangepaste hazard ratio , 1,23; 95% BI, 1,09-1,39) en de algemene bevolking (aHR, 1,72; 95% BI, 1,38-2,15).
Personen met acute zorg vanwege cannabisgebruik liepen een lager risico dan personen met acute zorg vanwege alcoholgebruik (aHR, 0,69; 95% BI, 0,62-0,76).

Het volledige studierapport is onder bepaalde voorwaarden gratis in te zien. Hier het originele abstract:

FullText

Key Points

Question Are individuals who have an acute care encounter (an emergency department visit or hospitalization) due to cannabis use at increased risk of being diagnosed with dementia?

Findings In this cohort study of 6 million individuals aged 45 years or older with no history of dementia, those with acute care due to cannabis use were at 1.5-fold (absolute risk, 5.0% vs 3.6%) and 3.9-fold (absolute risk, 5.0% vs 1.3%) increased risk of a new dementia diagnosis within 5 years compared with individuals with an all-cause acute care encounter and the general population, respectively.

Meaning Individuals with cannabis use severe enough to require emergency department or hospital care may be at increased risk of being diagnosed with dementia.

Abstract

Importance Cannabis use is associated with short-term memory impairment and long-term changes in brain structure; however, little is known about whether disordered cannabis use is associated with an increased risk of a dementia diagnosis.

Objective To investigate the association between emergency department visits or hospitalizations (acute care encounters) due to cannabis and future dementia diagnosis.

Design, Setting, and Participants Population-based, retrospective, matched cohort study using health administrative data from Ontario, Canada, between 2008 and 2021 (with follow-up until 2022) including all individuals aged 45 to 105 years living in Ontario who were eligible and did not have a diagnosis of dementia at cohort entry (2 620 083 individuals excluded).

Exposure Individuals with incident acute care due to cannabis use, defined using International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision coding.

Main Outcomes and Measures We used cause-specific adjusted hazard models to compare new diagnoses of dementia (from a validated algorithm) between individuals with acute care due to cannabis use with (1) individuals with all-cause acute care (excluding cannabis), (2) the general population, and (3) individuals with acute care due to alcohol use.

Results The study included 6 086 794 individuals, of whom 16 275 (0.3%) had incident acute care due to cannabis use (mean age, 55.2 [SD, 8.3] years; 60.3% male). Annual rates of incident acute care due to cannabis use increased 5.0-fold in individuals aged 45 to 64 years (from 10.16 to 50.65 per 100 000) and 26.7-fold in individuals aged 65 years or older (from 0.65 to 16.99 per 100 000) between 2008 and 2021. Individuals with incident acute care due to cannabis use were at a 1.5-fold and 3.9-fold increased risk of dementia diagnosis within 5 years relative to individuals with all-cause acute care and the general population of the same age and sex, respectively (absolute rates of dementia diagnosis: 5.0% for cannabis-related acute care, 3.6% for all-cause acute care, and 1.3% in the general population). After adjustment for sociodemographics and chronic health conditions, individuals with acute care due to cannabis use remained at elevated risk relative to those with all-cause acute care (adjusted hazard ratio , 1.23; 95% CI, 1.09-1.39) and the general population (aHR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.38-2.15). Individuals with acute care due to cannabis use were at lower risk than those with acute care due to alcohol use (aHR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.62-0.76).

Conclusions and Relevance Individuals with cannabis use severe enough to require hospital-based care were at increased risk of a new dementia diagnosis compared with those with all-cause hospital-based care or the general population. These findings have important implications considering increasing cannabis use among older adults.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

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