If you think that skipping that thick tiramisu latte with extra cream on top but still taking your nightly dose of pot saves you from diabetes, think again. A new study, though still in preliminary stage, has suggested that cannabis use can lead to almost four times higher risk of Type 2 diabetes.

During the ongoing Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, which started on September 15 and will go on till September 19, the report made its way to a presentation. It puts into perspective a growing obsession of societies and the governments across the world to legalize cannabis, which already has 219 million users in 2021--almost 4.3% of global adults, according to publicly available data, reports said. But its long-term effects on metabolism are still not well understood.

Past studies gave mixed results – some hinted cannabis might help with inflammation or weight, while others worried it could harm glucose metabolism and insulin resistance. The real level of diabetes risk was not clear until now, as reported by Medical Xpress.

Cannabis and diabetes risk study

To strengthen evidence, Dr. Ibrahim Kamel from Boston Medical Center, U.S., and colleagues analyzed electronic health records from 54 healthcare organizations in the TriNetX Research Network. They studied 96,795 outpatients aged 18–50 (52.5% female) with cannabis-related diagnoses between 2010 and 2018. These included cases of occasional use, dependence, intoxication, and withdrawal.

These patients were compared with a control group of 4,160,998 healthy individuals who had no record of substance use or major chronic conditions. Both groups were matched by age, sex, and medical background. Participants were tracked for 5 years. Researchers controlled for cholesterol (HDL/LDL), high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cocaine use, alcohol use, and other lifestyle risk factors, as per the report by Medical Xpress.

Health experts warn on cannabis effects

The results showed that 1,937 cannabis users (2.2%) developed diabetes compared to 518 non-users (0.6%). Statistical analysis revealed cannabis users were at nearly 4x higher risk of developing diabetes. Experts suggest this link may be due to insulin resistance and unhealthy eating habits often seen among cannabis users.

Dr. Kamel says that a wider societal acceptance of cannabis also warrants a deeper understanding of it, and the current findings are indeed essential to metabolic effects of it, though more research is still needed. He added that doctors should integrate diabetes risk awareness into substance use treatment and routinely ask patients about cannabis use to check their risk and need for monitoring, as stated in the reports.

Though the researchers have claimed that it is a retrospective study and hence unable to prove either cause or effect, they have pointed that a detailed analysis of different types of cannabis i.e. edible and inhaled both, is needed to see their different co- relations with diabetes. They cannot fully rule out other unmeasured factors that may have influenced results, even though they tried to reduce bias with matching, as per the Medical Xpress report.

There were some limitations:

• No detailed data on how much cannabis was consumed.
• Possible misclassification of cases.
• Dependence on patients accurately reporting cannabis use, even in places where it is illegal.
• Inconsistent reporting in medical records.

FAQs

Q1. Does cannabis increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes?
Yes, a new study of over 4 million people found cannabis users were almost four times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes compared to non-users.

Q2. Why do experts link cannabis use to diabetes risk?
Experts say it may be due to insulin resistance and unhealthy eating habits, but more research is needed to confirm the exact reasons.