Marijuana use and medically attended injury events.
OBJECTIVE
This study evaluated the relation between self-reported marijuana use and 3-year incidence of injury.


METHODS
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program members who underwent multiphasic health examinations between 1979 and 1986 (n=4,462). Injury-related outpatient visits, hospitalizations, and fatalities within 3 years of examination were determined.


RESULTS
Outpatient injury events totaled 2,524; 1,611 participants (36%) had at least 1 injury-related outpatient visit. Injury-related hospitalizations (n=22) and fatalities (n=3) were rare. Among men, there was no consistent relation between marijuana use and injury incidence for either former users (rate ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval [CI], .97 to 1.36) or current users (rate ratio, 0.97; 95% CI, .81 to 1.17), compared with those who had never used marijuana. Among women, former and current users showed little difference in their rate of later injury compared with never users; the rate ratios were 1.05 (95% CI, .87 to 1.26) and 1.20 (95% CI, 1.00 to 1.44), respectively. No statistically significant associations were noted between marijuana use and cause-specific injury incidence in men or women.


CONCLUSIONS
Among members of a health maintenance organization, self-reported marijuana use in adult men or women was not associated with outpatient injury within 3 years of marijuana use ascertainment.
Braun
B L
BL
St. Mary's/Duluth Clinic Health System, Division of Education and Research, MN, USA.
Tekawa
I S
IS
Gerberich
S G
SG
Sidney
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002423:Cause of Death; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*