Nashville, TN: Pancreatitis patients who consume cannabis are less likely to die while hospitalized and possess better overall health outcomes as compared to non-users, according to data published in the Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease.
An international team of researchers from the United States and India assessed the relationship between cannabis use and inpatient outcomes in a cohort of more than 907,000 hospitalized patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP).
After adjusting for confounders, cannabis use was associated with decreased odds of mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 0.47), ICU admission (OR=0.71), deep vein thrombosis (OR=0.71), pulmonary embolism (OR=0.62), and pancreatic cancer (OR=.73).
“Our study reports [that] cannabis use among hospitalized patients with chronic pancreatitis [is] associated with improved in-hospital outcomes as well as lower odds of developing pancreatic cancer,” the study’s authors concluded. “Future research …. [should] aim to identify the exact mechanism by which cannabis exerts its effects on the pancreas and other organ systems is required.”
The findings are consistent with those of a 2019 study, which similarly reported that acute pancreatitis patients with a history of cannabis use had “significantly lower in-patient mortality” and shorter hospital stays than non-users.
Typically, patients with CP are at a higher risk of complications due to their compromised immune system.
Other studies have also linked cannabis use with decreased in-hospital mortality, specifically among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, acute myocardial infarction, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, gastroparesis, HIV, burn-related injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and various other types of severe trauma.
Full text of the study, “Cannabis use and outcomes in patients with chronic pancreatitis: A national inpatient sample analysis,” appears in the Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease.