Cannabis use disorder among pregnant women slightly increased among pregnant women between 2015 and 2020 in the US. The study was published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.
“While earlier research analyzed data from a specific geographic sample of pregnant women, this study aimed to examine the prevalence of cannabis use disorder diagnosis during pregnancy among a large sample of commercially insured women determined from commercial administrative claims data during a five-year period,” said first author of the study, Priscila Gonçalves, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in a press release.
Previous research indicates that self-reported past-month cannabis use more than tripled from 1.5% to 5.4% among pregnant women in the US between 2002 and 2020. Research also suggests that a high proportion of pregnant women who use cannabis meet the criteria for cannabis use disorder.
In the current study, researchers examined the prevalence of cannabis use disorder in a large sample of commercially insured pregnant women aged between 12 and 55 years old from 2015 to 2020. Altogether 893, 430 pregnant women with 1, 058, 448 pregnancies were identified over the period, with the annual prevalence of cannabis use disorder increasing from 0.22% in 2015 to 0.26% in 2020.
“Our results highlight the need to better understand the determinants of cannabis use disorder among pregnant women, including factors related to cannabis use disorder diagnosis – from the severity of cannabis use disorder -- as well as factors contributing to diagnosis and treatment,” said senior author of the study, Silvia Martins, MD, PhD, professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, in a press release.
“This study makes it clear that additional research is needed to inform prevention and intervention opportunities,” she added.
Medical guidelines recommend pregnant women refrain from using cannabis due to a higher risk of negative maternal and neonatal outcomes and concerns over long-term effects on mental health.
Sources: EurekAlert, American Journal of Preventative Medicine
