Cannabis use disorder among atrial fibrillation admissions, 2008–2018

• DOI: 10.1111/pace.14356
• Publication Date: 2021-09-10T18:09:50Z
• Authors: Fouad Chouairi; P. Elliott Miller; Avirup Guha; John‐Ross Clarke; Samuel W. Reinhardt; Tariq Ahmad; James V. Freeman; Nihar R. Desai; Daniel J. Friedman
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Marijuana Abuse; Adolescent; Middle Aged; United States; 3. Good health; Hospitalization; 03 medical and health sciences; Cross-Sectional Studies; 0302 clinical medicine; Atrial Fibrillation; Humans; Female; Aged; Retrospective Studies

AbstractBackgroundDespite changes inthe legality of cannabis use and the increasing prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD), there is little data investigating the association between CUD and inpatient atrial fibrillation (AF) hospitalizations.MethodsUsing the National Inpatient Sample, we identified Atrial Fibrillation (AF) hospitalizations with and without a codiagnosis of CUD using International Classification of Diseases diagnosis codes and compared demographics, socioeconomics, comorbidities, outcomes, and trends between cohorts.ResultsBetween 2008 and 2018, we identified 5,155,789 admissions for AF of which 31,768 (0.6%) had a codiagnosis of CUD. The proportion of admissions with a history of CUD increased from 0.3% in 2008 to 1.0% in 2018 (p < .001). Hospital discharges of patients with CUD were significantly younger (53 vs. 72 years, p < .001), had a higher proportion of black race (CUD: 26.6% vs. 8.0%, p < .001), and had a higher proportion of income in the lowest income quartile than without a codiagnosis of CUD (CUD: 40.5% vs. 26.2%, p < .001).ConclusionsCUD is increasingly prevalent among AF hospitalizations, particularly among young patients. Codiagnosis of CUD in AF hospitalizations is also more common in underserved patients. As a result, it is important for future research to examine and understand the impact of CUD on this population, particularly in the light of changing legislation surrounding the legality of cannabis.