• Daniel Falkstedt, Valerie Wolff, Peter Allebeck, Tomas Hemmingsson, and Anna-Karin Danielsson.
• From the Department of Public Health Sciences (D.F., P.A., A.-K.D.) and Institute of Environmental Medicine (T.H.), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Stroke Unit, Department of Neurology, Strasbourg University Hospital, University of Strasbourg, France (V.W.); Centre for Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Stockholm County Council, Sweden (P.A.); and Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs, Stockholm University, Sweden (T.H.).
• Stroke. 2017 Feb 1; 48 (2): 265-270.

Background And PurposeCurrent knowledge on cannabis use in relation to stroke is based almost exclusively on clinical reports. By using a population-based cohort, we aimed to find out whether there was an association between cannabis use and early-onset stroke, when accounting for the use of tobacco and alcohol.MethodsThe cohort comprises 49 321 Swedish men, born between 1949 and 1951, who were conscripted into compulsory military service between the ages of 18 and 20. All men answered 2 detailed questionnaires at conscription and were subject to examinations of physical aptitude, psychological functioning, and medical status. Information on stroke events up to ≈60 years of age was obtained from national databases; this includes strokes experienced before 45 years of age.ResultsNo associations between cannabis use in young adulthood and strokes experienced ≤45 years of age or beyond were found in multivariable models: cannabis use >50 times, hazard ratios=0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34-2.57) and 0.95 (95% CI, 0.59-1.53). Although an almost doubled risk of ischemic stroke was observed in those with cannabis use >50 times, this risk was attenuated when adjusted for tobacco usage: hazards ratio=1.47 (95% CI, 0.83-2.56). Smoking ≥20 cigarettes per day was clearly associated both with strokes before 45 years of age, hazards ratio=5.04 (95% CI, 2.80-9.06), and with strokes throughout the follow-up, hazards ratio=2.15 (95% CI, 1.61-2.88).ConclusionsWe found no evident association between cannabis use in young adulthood and stroke, including strokes before 45 years of age. Tobacco smoking, however, showed a clear, dose-response shaped association with stroke.© 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

32 keywords...

hide…