The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between marijuana use and health outcomes among hospitalized patients, including those hospitalized with a diagnosis of cancer. A total of 387,608 current marijuana users were identified based on ICD-9 codes for marijuana use among hospitalized patients in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database between 2007 and 2011. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between marijuana use and heart failure, cardiac disease, stroke, and in-hospital mortality. All models were adjusted for age, gender, race, residential income, insurance, residential region, pain, and number of comorbidities. Among hospitalized patients, marijuana use was associated with a 60% increased odds of stroke (OR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.44-1.77) compared with non-users, but significantly reduced odds of heart failure (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.75-0.82), cardiac disease (OR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.82-0.91), or in-hospital mortality (OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.38-0.44). Among cancer patients, odds of in-hospital mortality was significantly reduced among marijuana users compared with non-users (OR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.35-0.55). Hospitalized marijuana users were more likely to experience a stroke compared with non-users, but less likely to experience in-hospital mortality. Prospective studies will be needed to better characterize the health effects of marijuana use, especially among older, sicker, and/or hospitalized patients. In the meantime, conversations regarding marijuana use/misuse may be warranted in the clinical setting in order for patients and healthcare providers to adequately weigh the anticipated benefits of marijuana use with potentially significant health risks.
Keywords: Cancer patients; hospitalized patients; inpatient outcomes; marijuana use.
© 2016 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.