Cannabis Use Linked to Low Blood Pressure, Study Says

By Sechat

A new study published in the renowned scientific journal Nature: Scientific Reports assessed the relationship between cannabis consumption and blood pressure. Researchers observed over 91,000 individuals. According to the publication, recent or long-term cannabis use is directly associated with lower blood pressure levels. This result prevails among all consumers, especially in the case of women.

French researcher Alexandre Vallée, who conducted the survey, noted conflicting evidence regarding cardiovascular risks of cannabis use. Vallée also mentioned the low population incidence in previous studies and the lack of research on cardiovascular health and cannabis that specifically analyze sex differences.

Methodology

In total, the evaluation covered 502,478 Britons from 22 cities in the UK National Health Service, the so-called UK Biobank. Participants were separated through questionnaires, computer-assisted interviews, physical and functional measurements, and blood, urine, and saliva samples. Additionally, the data included socioeconomic factors, behavior, lifestyle, mental health, and clinical therapies.

The 156,959 recruited volunteers answered the proposed questions. Among these, 65,798 were excluded due to lack of data and uncategorized variables, leaving 91,161 volunteers, divided and classified into four distinct groups of cannabis users:

• - Daily users;
• - Once a week;
• - Once a month; and
• - Less than once a month.

There was also a group that did not use the plant at all, which served as the basis for comparison in the tests.

Results

"We found a negative association between blood pressure and cannabis use in both sexes, but more pronounced in women. As noted for tobacco, it would be interesting to develop a marijuana consumption per year to clearly investigate the relationship between marijuana consumption effects over time," the study highlights.

However, the small association in blood pressure differences between long-term cannabis users and short-term and non-users remains too small to adopt cannabis blood pressure policy in clinical practice.

Furthermore, according to the researchers, more longitudinal studies are needed, covering a general population and then hypertensive patients to highlight the potential blood pressure reduction effect of cannabis in medical use.