Cannabis Use Tied to Higher Risk for Incident Diabetes

Original Article: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/cannabis-use-tied-higher-risk-incident-diabetes-2025a1000od0

Cannabis Use and Diabetes Risk

A recently presented real-world study has found that cannabis use is linked to a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes. Looking at data from over four million adults, researchers discovered that people using cannabis had nearly four times the risk of being diagnosed with diabetes over a five-year period compared to adults who did not use cannabis.

Study Design

The study used records from 54 healthcare organizations worldwide. It compared roughly 97,000 adults aged 18 to 50 cannabis users—including both occasional use and dependence—to more than 4.1 million controls.

Key Findings

Results showed a striking difference: 2.2% of cannabis users developed diabetes, compared with just 0.6% of controls. This translates into a substantial increase in risk. 

Clinical Implications

These findings underscore the importance of considering metabolic risk in the context of cannabis use, especially as legalization and use become more widespread. Clinicians are encouraged to ask patients about cannabis habits and factor this information into preventive health and lifestyle counseling.

Limitations

The study does have limitations. Its retrospective design cannot establish causality, and detailed information on dosage, frequency, or cannabis type was not available. There may have been other reasons for the increased risk of diabetes among cannabis users which were not captured in this study (cofounders).

Takeaway

Despite these limitations, the research highlights a potentially important and underrecognized link between cannabis use and diabetes risk.