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No Detectable Association Between Frequency of Marijuana Use and Health or Healthcare Utilization Among Primary Care Patients Who Screen Positive for Drug Use

Journal of General Internal Medicine volume 29, pages 133–139 (2014)Cite this article

A Capsule Commentary to this article was published on 18 October 2013

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, yet its impact on health and healthcare utilization has not been studied extensively.

METHODS

To assess the cross-sectional association between frequency of marijuana use and healthcare utilization (emergency department and hospitalization) and health (comorbidity, health status), we studied patients in an urban primary care clinic who reported any recent (past 3-month) drug use (marijuana, opioids, cocaine, others) on screening. Frequency of marijuana use in the past 3 months was the main independent variable [daily/ almost daily, less than daily and no use (reference group)]. Outcomes assessed were past 3-month emergency department or hospital utilization, the presence of medical comorbidity (Charlson index ≥ 1), and health status with the EuroQol. We used separate multivariable regression models adjusting for age, sex, tobacco and other substance use.

RESULTS

All 589 participants reported recent drug use: marijuana 84 % (29 % daily, 55 % less than daily), cocaine 25 %, opioid 23 %, other drugs 8 %; 58 % reported exclusive marijuana use. Frequency of marijuana use was not significantly associated with emergency department use {adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.67, [95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.36, 1.24] for daily; AOR 0.69 [95 % CI 0.40,1.18] for less than daily versus no use}, hospitalization [AOR 0.79 (95 % CI 0.35, 1.81) for daily; AOR 1.23 (95 % CI 0.63, 2.40) for less than daily versus no use], any comorbidity [AOR 0.62, (95 % CI 0.33, 1.18) for daily; AOR 0.67 (95 % CI 0.38, 1.17) for less than daily versus no use] or health status (adjusted mean EuroQol 69.1, 67.8 and 68.0 for daily, less than daily and none, respectively, global p = 0.78).

CONCLUSIONS

Among adults in primary care who screen positive for any recent illicit or non-medical prescription drug use, we were unable to detect an association between frequency of marijuana use and health, emergency department use, or hospital utilization.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by funding from Award Number R01DA025068 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and, in part, by the National Center for Research Resources (Award Number UL1RR025771).

Dr. Fuster is a postdoctoral grantee from the Spanish Ministry of Education/ Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (EDU/3495/2010). Dr. Fuster was also funded by grants from Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain (grants RD06/001/0021, RD06/006/1014 and RD12/0028/0006) and Ministry of Health (grant EC11-042).

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, 801 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd floor (Room #2022C), Boston, MA, 02118, USA

    Daniel Fuster MD, PhD, Debbie M. Cheng ScD, Jeffrey H. Samet MD, MA, MPH & Richard Saitz MD, MPH

  2. Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Debbie M. Cheng ScD

  3. School of Health Sciences, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Donald Allensworth-Davies PhD

  4. Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Tibor P. Palfai PhD

  5. Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Jeffrey H. Samet MD, MA, MPH

  6. Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Richard Saitz MD, MPH

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  1. Daniel Fuster MD, PhD
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  2. Debbie M. Cheng ScD
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Correspondence to Daniel Fuster MD, PhD.

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Fuster, D., Cheng, D.M., Allensworth-Davies, D. et al. No Detectable Association Between Frequency of Marijuana Use and Health or Healthcare Utilization Among Primary Care Patients Who Screen Positive for Drug Use. J GEN INTERN MED 29, 133–139 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-013-2605-z

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KEY WORDS

  • marijuana
  • primary care
  • health status
  • health service utilization