Cannabis Use Disorder Among Patients Hospitalized With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Cannabis use disorder among patients hospitalized with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was positively associated with younger age, male sex, African American race, and Crohn disease, according to research presented at the Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (AIBD) 2021 Annual Meeting, held from December 9 to 11, 2021, in Orlando, Florida and virtually.

The 2017 National Inpatient Sample was used to identify cannabis use disorder in adults with IBD. Patient data including age, sex, race, Crohn disease vs ulcerative colitis diagnosis, region, metropolitan status, zip code household income, primary insurance, and length of stay were collected. Multivariable logistic and Poisson regressions were used in the analysis.

Overall, 565 (3.1%) instances of cannabis use disorder were identified among 17,857 hospitalizations for IBD. Patients diagnosed with cannabis use disorder were younger (mean age, 35.1±11.8 years vs 45.6±18.1 years), less likely to be women (32.7% vs 54.1%), more likely to be Black (24.8% vs 13.9%), and more likely be diagnosed with Crohn disease (72.0% vs 62.2%; all P <.001).

Age (odds ratio [OR], 0.964; 95% CI, 0.957-0.971), female sex (OR, 0.444; 95% CI, 0.369-0.531), African American race (OR, 1.405; 95% CI, 1.124-1.750), and Crohn disease diagnosis (OR, 1.363; 95% CI, 1.126-1.657) were all confirmed during multivariate logistic regression as predictors of cannabis use disorder. Additionally, there was no association between cannabis use disorder and length of hospital stay.

According to investigators, “The prevalence of cannabis use has been increasing in the United States in recent years.” Adding, “Young age, male sex, African American race, and Crohn’s disease were positively associated with cannabis use disorder in IBD hospitalizations.”

Reference

Wang Yize R. Prevalence of cannabis use disorder in inflammatory bowel disease hospitalizations in the United States and effect on length of stay. Presented at: AIBD 2021 Annual Meeting; December 9-11, 2021; Orlando, FL and virtual. Abstract P011.