Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy
Open Access

Review Article

Relationship between Years of Marijuana Use and the Four Main Diagnostic Criteria for Metabolic Syndrome among United States Adults

¹Georgia State University, School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, 140 Decatur Street NE, Suite 848, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA

²Georgia State University, School of Public Health, Division of Research and Faculty Development, USA

³Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science, 140 Decatur Street NE., Suite 857 Urban Life Bldg, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA

⁴Georgia State University, School of Public Health, Division of Health Promotion and Behavior, 140 Decatur Street NE, Suite 848, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA

Corresponding Author:

Barbara A
Yankey, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Georgia State University School of Public Health, USA
Tel: 404-519-0105
Email: byankey1@student.gsu.edu

Received date: January 09, 2017; Accepted date: February 12, 2017; Published date: February 19, 2017

Citation: Yankey BA, Rothenberg R, Strasser S, White KR, Okosun IS (2017) Relationship between Years of Marijuana Use and the Four Main Diagnostic Criteria for Metabolic Syndrome among United States Adults. J Addict Res Ther S11:017. doi:10.4172/2155-6105.1000S11-017

Copyright: © 2017 Yankey BA, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Objective: Research on marijuana use suggests a protective effect on metabolic syndrome. National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel III, World Health Organization, European Group for the study of Insulin Resistance and International Diabetes Federation has different criteria for metabolic syndrome. Definitions of both marijuana use and criteria for metabolic syndrome may influence the observed effects. We examine the relationship of years of marijuana use with the four common definitions of metabolic syndrome.

Method: This is a cross-sectional study of 3051 adults aged ≥ 20 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2012. Only participants who responded to the question, "Have you ever even once used marijuana or hashish?" were enrolled. Using multivariate logistic regression, we estimated odds ratios for metabolic syndrome with each year of marijuana use.

Results: Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for having metabolic syndrome with each increase in year of marijuana use was 1.05 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.08) using National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria. Respective AOR using International Diabetes Federation (IDF) was 1.08 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.13) and 1.05 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.13) using World Health Organization (WHO) or European Group for the study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR) criteria. Using ATP III or IDF criteria, the adjusted odds ratio of having hypertension (AOR Hyp) for each year of marijuana use was 1.07 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.12). Using WHO criteria, AOR Hyp was 1.05 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.09) and 1.08 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.12) using EGIR. All the applicable criteria show increased odds for abdominal obesity: AOR 1.06 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.11) (ATP III), 1.09 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.14) (EGIR) or 1.07 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.13) (IDF). Adjusted odds ratio for having high oral glucose tolerance test levels was 1.12 (95% CI: 1.07, 1.18) using WHO and EGIR criteria.

Conclusion: Irrespective of the criteria for metabolic syndrome, each year of marijuana use showed increased odds of having metabolic syndrome, hypertension or high oral glucose tolerance test levels. This increased odd is in contrast to most findings in literature. The small, yet consistent increase in odds for hypertension was slightly higher than that observed with cigarette smoking. Recreational marijuana use may be detrimental to cardiovascular health. A standardized definition of marijuana use will be relevant for further investigation.

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