By Daniel Itai
A recent study conducted by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and published in the National Library of Medicine has revealed that there is no correlation between the use of marijuana and liver fibrosis.
Liver fibrosis can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, and portal hypertension, often necessitating liver transplantation.
A part of the NHANES study reads:
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“The target population for this study consisted of adults in the NHANES database with reliable vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) results. The median values of the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) were used to assess liver steatosis and fibrosis, respectively.
“After adjusting for relevant confounders, a logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between marijuana use and liver steatosis and fibrosis.
“A total of 2,622 participants were included in this study, with the proportions of never marijuana users, past users, and current users being 45.9 percent, 35 percent, and 19.1 percent, respectively. When compared to never marijuana users, past and current users exhibited a lower prevalence of liver steatosis.
“In the alcohol intake-adjusted model, current marijuana use was identified as an independent predictor of a low prevalence of liver steatosis in individuals with non-heavy alcohol intake. However, no significant association was found between marijuana use and liver fibrosis in both univariate and multivariate regression analyses.
“The study concluded that in this nationally representative sample, current marijuana use is inversely associated with steatosis. However, the underlying pathophysiology remains unclear and requires further investigation. Moreover, no significant association was established between marijuana use and liver fibrosis, regardless of past or current use.”
