Epidemiology and factors associated with cannabis use among patients with glaucoma in the All of Us Research Program

Jo-Hsuan Wu; Bharanidharan Radha Saseendrakumar; Sasan Moghimi; Sophia Sidhu; Alireza Kamalipour; Robert N Weinreb; Sally L Baxter

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15811

Epidemiology and factors associated with cannabis use among patients with glaucoma in the All of Us Research Program

Heliyon. 2023 Apr 25;9(5):e15811. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15811. eCollection 2023 May.

Authors

Jo-Hsuan Wu¹, Bharanidharan Radha Saseendrakumar^{1

2}, Sasan Moghimi¹, Sophia Sidhu¹, Alireza Kamalipour¹, Robert N Weinreb¹, Sally L Baxter^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and Shiley Eye Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
² UCSD Health Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the epidemiology and factors of cannabis use among open-angle glaucoma (OAG) patients.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, OAG participants in the All of Us database were included. Cannabis ever-users were defined based on record of cannabis use. Demographic and socioeconomic data were collected and compared between cannabis ever-users and never-users using Chi-Square tests and logistic regression. Odds ratios (OR) of potential factors associated with cannabis use were examined in univariable and multivariable models.

Results: Among 3723 OAG participants, 1436 (39%) were cannabis ever-users. The mean (SD) age of never-users and ever-users was 72.9 (10.4) and 69.2 (9.6) years, respectively (P < 0.001). Compared to never-users, Black (34%) and male (55%) participants were better represented in ever-users, while Hispanic or Latino participants (6%) were less represented (P < 0.001). Diversity was also observed in socioeconomic characteristics including marital status, housing security, and income/education levels. A higher percentage of ever-users had a degree ≥12 grades (91%), salaried employment (26%), housing insecurity (12%), and history of cigar smoking (48%), alcohol consumption (96%), and other substance use (47%) (P < 0.001). In the multivariable analysis, Black race (OR [95% CI] = 1.33 [1.06, 1.68]), higher education (OR = 1.19 [1.07, 1.32]), and history of nicotine product smoking (OR: 2.04-2.83), other substance use (OR = 8.14 [6.63, 10.04]), and alcohol consumption (OR = 6.80 [4.45, 10.79]) were significant factors associated with cannabis use. Increased age (OR = 0.96 [0.95, 0.97]), Asian race (OR = 0.18 [0.09, 0.33]), and Hispanic/Latino ethnicity (OR = 0.43 [0.27, 0.68]) were associated with decreased odds of use (P < 0.02).

Conclusions: This study elucidated the previously uncharacterized epidemiology and factors associated with cannabis use among OAG patients, which may help to identify patients requiring additional outreach on unsupervised marijuana use.