A new study led by the Bruyère Research Institute and elsewhere has found a link between cannabis use and the development of anxiety disorders.
This research was conducted on over 12 million residents of Ontario, Canada, from 2008 to 2019, who had no prior diagnosis or treatment for anxiety.
The study’s findings are published in eClinicalMedicine, underlining the potential risks associated with cannabis use.
The study analyzed health record data to compare the likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder in people who visited an emergency department (ED) for cannabis use against that of the general population.
Dr. Daniel Myran, the study’s lead author, highlighted the alarming connection between emergency treatment for cannabis use and a big rise in the risk of new or worsening anxiety disorders.
The researchers found that within three years of an ED visit for cannabis use, 27.5% of these individuals were diagnosed with a new anxiety disorder.
This rate starkly contrasts with only 5.6% in the general population, marking a nearly fourfold increased risk even when accounting for social and other mental health factors.
Furthermore, the study found that 12.3% of the cannabis-related ED visitors experienced severe anxiety disorders requiring hospitalization or another ED visit, compared to just 1.2% of the general population, indicating a nearly 3.7-fold increased risk.
The study also found that the risk was much higher when the ED visit was primarily due to cannabis, with a 9.4-fold increase in the likelihood of hospitalization or ED visit for an anxiety disorder.
This elevated risk was consistent across genders and age groups, with young adults (10–24 years) and men being particularly vulnerable.
This research sheds light on the ongoing debate regarding whether cannabis use directly leads to anxiety disorders or if the observed correlation is partly due to individuals using cannabis as a form of self-medication for pre-existing anxiety symptoms.
The findings suggest that cannabis use may indeed exacerbate anxiety issues, challenging the notion that cannabis is a harmless substance or possesses therapeutic benefits for anxiety.
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The research findings can be found in eClinicalMedicine.
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