title: Self-reported lifetime marijuana use and interleukin-6 levels in middle-aged African Americans.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research examining the relationship between marijuana and cytokine function has been well developed in the biochemical literature. However, scant literature exists regarding this relationship between inflammatory markers and marijuana use in public health or behavioral studies and is virtually nonexistent in non-neurologically compromised African American samples.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current study examined the differences in serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), a proinflammatory cytokine, between non-drug users (n=78), marijuana only users (n=46) and marijuana plus other drugs users (n=45) in a community-based sample of middle aged African Americans. Participants included 169 African American adults (50.30% female), with a mean age of 45.68 years (SD=11.72 years) from the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Serum was drawn upon entry into the study and the participants completed a demographic questionnaire, which included questions regarding drug use history.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjusting for demographic and physiological covariates, analysis of covariance revealed a significant difference between the three groups, F(2,158)=3.08, p=0.04). Post hoc analyses revealed lifetime marijuana only users had significantly lower IL-6 levels (M=2.20 pg/mL, SD=1.93) than their lifetime nonuser counterparts (M=3.73 pg/mL, SD=6.28). No other comparisons among the groups were statistically significantly different.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current findings extend previous cellular and biochemical literature, which identifies an inverse association between IL-6 and marijuana use. Examining this relationship in the psychological and behavioral literature could be informative to the development of clinical interventions for inflammatory diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, United States. Electronic address: larrydkeenii@phhp.ufl.edu.
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Keen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, United States. Electronic address: dpereira@phhp.ufl.edu.
authors.forename: Deidre
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, United States. Electronic address: wwlatimer@phhp.ufl.edu.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Latimer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6
keywords: African American; Illicit drug use; Inflammation; Interleukin-6; Marijuana; Middle age