Abstract
Background: It is unclear whether cannabis use in humans plays a role in the regulation of inflammatory responses. This study aimed to examine cannabis-attributable immunomodulation as manifested in levels of fibrinogen, C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Methods: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study is a cohort of 5115 African-American and Caucasian males and females enrolled in 1985-1986, and followed up for over 25 years, with repeated measures of cannabis use. Fibrinogen levels were measured at year 5, year 7, and year 20, CRP levels were measured at year 7, year 15, year 20, and year 25, and IL-6 levels were measured at year 20. We estimated the association of cannabis use and each biomarker using generalized estimating equations adjusting for demographic factors, tobacco cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, and body mass index. Results: Compared with never use (reference), recent cannabis use was not associated with any of the biomarkers studied here after adjusting for potential confounding variables. Former cannabis use was inversely associated with fibrinogen levels (β = −5.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], −9.9, −0.9), whereas the associations were weaker for serum CRP (β = −0.02; 95% CI, −0.10, 0.06) and IL-6 (β = −0.06; 95% CI, −0.13, 0.02). Conclusions: A modest inverse association between former cannabis use and fibrinogen was observed. Additional studies are needed to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of cannabis while considering different cannabis preparation and mode of use.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1327-1334.e1 |
| Journal | American journal of medicine |
| Volume | 132 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 2019 |
Funding
We thank the participants and staff of the CARDIA study. This work would not have been possible without them. The CARDIA study is conducted and supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (HHSN268201300025C and HHSN268201300026C), Northwestern University (HHSN268201300027C), the University of Minnesota (HHSN268201300028C), the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute (HHSN268201300029C) and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (HHSN268200900041C). The CARDIA study is also partially supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging and an intra-agency agreement between the National Institute on Aging and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (AG0005). This manuscript has been reviewed by CARDIA for scientific content. The views expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institutes of Health or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We thank the participants and staff of the CARDIA study. This work would not have been possible without them. The CARDIA study is conducted and supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (HHSN268201300025C and HHSN268201300026C), Northwestern University (HHSN268201300027C), the University of Minnesota (HHSN268201300028C), the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute (HHSN268201300029C) and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (HHSN268200900041C). The CARDIA study is also partially supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging and an intra-agency agreement between the National Institute on Aging and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (AG0005). This manuscript has been reviewed by CARDIA for scientific content. The views expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institutes of Health or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Keywords
- C-reactive protein
- CARDIA
- Cannabis
- Fibrinogen
- Inflammation
- Prospective
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine