Heavy Marijuana Use Could Be Linked to Poor Kidney Function

Heavy marijuana use could be associated with poorer kidney function in young adults, according to the results of a recent study.

“Although it is biologically plausible that marijuana could affect kidney function, epidemiologic data are lacking,” the researchers wrote.

For their study, the researchers examined data from the Coronary Atery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, involving 3765 participants who underwent examinations every 5 years. Cystatin C was collected over a 10-year period, and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio was collected over a 15-year period.

Past or current marijuana use was reported by 83% of the participants. Mean eGFR_cys was 111 ml/min per 1.73 m² at year 10. Over the following 10 years, 504 of the participants had rapid eGFR_cys decline, and over 15 years, 426 participants had prevalent albuminuria.

Compared with no use, daily use and 5 or more marijuana-years of cumulative use were associated with lower eGFR_cys at year 10. However, marijuana use was not significantly associated with eGFR_cys change, rapid eGFR_cys decline, or prevalent albuminuria.

“Although we identified a modest cross-sectional association between higher marijuana exposure and lower eGFR_cys among young adults with preserved eGFR, our findings were largely null and did not demonstrate a longitudinal association between marijuana use and eGFR_cys change, rapid eGFR_cys decline, or prevalent albuminuria.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Ishida JH, Auer R, Vittinghoff E, et al. Marijuana use and estimated glomerular filtration rate in young adults [published online August 2017]. CJASN. doi: 10.2215/​CJN.01530217