2023-09-22 15:45:49
Tobacco and marijuana pose significant health risks to their respective users. But what happens when both products are habitually consumed? And, in particular, how does this joint consumption affect the human brain? A new study has sought an answer to this last question.
The research was carried out by a team led by Nhung Nguyen, from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), United States.
The study authors drew on an existing data source: the COVID-19 Citizen Science Study, a mobile app developed by UCSF researchers that contains a wealth of data, including mental health status and drug use. , collected from participants across the country through online surveys.
The researchers analyzed the responses of 53,843 Americans, who between March 2020 and April 2022 answered questions about tobacco and marijuana use over a 30-day period, and combined that information with monthly assessments of their mental health status. participants
People who use marijuana and tobacco have significantly higher rates of depression and anxiety than those who use either drug alone or neither.
Among people who consumed both products, 26.5% reported suffering from anxiety and 28.3% from depression.
Those were the highest percentages. The lowest levels of anxiety and depression occurred in people who did not consume any of these products and were 10.6% for anxiety and 11.2% for depression.
A cigarette butt thrown to the ground. (Photo: NOAA)
Compared to people who did not use tobacco or marijuana, those who used only marijuana were more likely to have mental health problems than those who only used tobacco.
It is worth clarifying that the study did not investigate whether mental disorders are exacerbated or triggered by the use of tobacco or marijuana, or vice versa.
The study is titled “Associations between tobacco and cannabis use and anxiety and depression among adults in the United States: Findings from the COVID-19 citizen science study”. And it has been published in the academic journal PLoS ONE. (Source: NCYT by Amazings)
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