TY - JOUR
T1 - Cannabis use among cancer survivors in the United States
T2 - Analysis of a nationally representative sample
AU - Do, Elizabeth K.
AU - Ksinan, Albert J.
AU - Kim, Sunny Jung
AU - Del Fabbro, Egidio G.
AU - Fuemmeler, Bernard F.
N1 - Funding Information:
Support for effort includes funding from the Massey Cancer Center Harrison Scholar Fund (SJK) and the Massey Cancer Center support grant (5P30 CA016059: BFF). The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study is supported by federal funds from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the DHHS under a contract to Westat (contract no. HHSN271201100027C). NIDA and the FDA contributed to the study design, but not the collection or analysis of the data.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Cancer Society
PY - 2021/11/1
Y1 - 2021/11/1
N2 - Background: Research on cannabis use among those with a history of cancer is limited. Methods: Prevalence of past-year cannabis use among individuals with and without a cancer history and predictors of use within these 2 groups were determined using data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study, a nationally representative, longitudinal survey conducted in the United States (waves 1-4; 2013-2018). Discrete time survival analyses were used to estimate baseline (wave 1) predictors (physical health status, mental health status, pain, and demographic variables) on past-year engagement with cannabis within individuals who reported a cancer diagnosis at wave 1 (n = 1022) and individuals who reported never having cancer at any wave (n = 19,702). Results: At the most recent survey, 8% of cancer survivors reported past-year cannabis use, compared with 15% of those without a cancer history. Across 4 time points, an estimated 3.8% of cancer survivors engaged with cannabis, as compared to 6.5% of those without a cancer history. Across both groups, older age and having health insurance were associated with lower likelihood of engaging in cannabis use, whereas greater levels of pain were associated with higher likelihood of engaging in cannabis use. Among those without a cancer history, being female, White, and having better mental health status were associated with lower likelihood of engaging in cannabis use. Conclusions: Although cannabis use prevalence is lower among cancer survivors, the reasons for use are not markedly different from those without a cancer history. Continued monitoring of use, reasons for use, and harms or benefits is warranted. Lay Summary: Results from this study, which uses data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, indicate that cannabis use is generally increasing across cancer survivors and those without a history of cancer. Cancer survivors are using cannabis at slightly lower rates than those without a history of cancer. Factors related to pain seem to be more prevalent in cancer populations relative to the general population, and could be contributing to cannabis use within cancer survivor populations.
AB - Background: Research on cannabis use among those with a history of cancer is limited. Methods: Prevalence of past-year cannabis use among individuals with and without a cancer history and predictors of use within these 2 groups were determined using data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study, a nationally representative, longitudinal survey conducted in the United States (waves 1-4; 2013-2018). Discrete time survival analyses were used to estimate baseline (wave 1) predictors (physical health status, mental health status, pain, and demographic variables) on past-year engagement with cannabis within individuals who reported a cancer diagnosis at wave 1 (n = 1022) and individuals who reported never having cancer at any wave (n = 19,702). Results: At the most recent survey, 8% of cancer survivors reported past-year cannabis use, compared with 15% of those without a cancer history. Across 4 time points, an estimated 3.8% of cancer survivors engaged with cannabis, as compared to 6.5% of those without a cancer history. Across both groups, older age and having health insurance were associated with lower likelihood of engaging in cannabis use, whereas greater levels of pain were associated with higher likelihood of engaging in cannabis use. Among those without a cancer history, being female, White, and having better mental health status were associated with lower likelihood of engaging in cannabis use. Conclusions: Although cannabis use prevalence is lower among cancer survivors, the reasons for use are not markedly different from those without a cancer history. Continued monitoring of use, reasons for use, and harms or benefits is warranted. Lay Summary: Results from this study, which uses data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, indicate that cannabis use is generally increasing across cancer survivors and those without a history of cancer. Cancer survivors are using cannabis at slightly lower rates than those without a history of cancer. Factors related to pain seem to be more prevalent in cancer populations relative to the general population, and could be contributing to cannabis use within cancer survivor populations.
KW - Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH)
KW - cancer
KW - cannabis
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U2 - 10.1002/cncr.33794
DO - 10.1002/cncr.33794
M3 - Article
C2 - 34387864
AN - SCOPUS:85111828573
SN - 0008-543X
VL - 127
SP - 4040
EP - 4049
JO - Cancer
JF - Cancer
IS - 21
ER -