A new study shows that using cannabis may make it much more likely to develop diabetes.
Researchers found that people who used cannabis had almost four times the risk of developing diabetes compared to those who didn’t use it.
The findings were presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria.
Cannabis use is growing worldwide. In 2021, about 219 million people (4.3% of adults globally) used cannabis.
However, scientists still don’t fully understand the long-term health effects. Some earlier studies suggested cannabis might help with inflammation or weight, but others have raised concerns about its effects on blood sugar and insulin.
To learn more, researchers from Boston Medical Center studied over 4 million adults using electronic health records from 54 healthcare centers in the USA and Europe.
They looked at nearly 97,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 50 who had a cannabis-related diagnosis between 2010 and 2018. These included occasional use, dependence, intoxication, and withdrawal.
The researchers compared these cannabis users to over 4.1 million healthy adults who didn’t use drugs and didn’t have major health conditions. They tracked both groups for five years.
Even after accounting for other health risks—like high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and use of other substances—people who used cannabis had a much higher rate of developing diabetes. Around 2.2% of the cannabis users developed diabetes, compared to only 0.6% of the healthy group.
The researchers believe this might be due to how cannabis affects insulin or encourages unhealthy eating habits. They say it’s important for doctors to talk to their patients about cannabis use and watch for signs of diabetes, especially as cannabis becomes more socially accepted and legal in many places.
They also say more research is needed. This study cannot prove that cannabis causes diabetes—it only shows a strong link. Also, the study relied on people reporting their cannabis use, which may not always be accurate, especially in places where cannabis is illegal.
Still, the results suggest that using cannabis could be a risk factor for diabetes and that people who use it should be aware of potential effects on their health.
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