![Sample our Health and Social Care journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5938/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Health-Social-Care.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Background: Marijuana use is common among HIV+ individuals, but few studies have examined long-term trends in prevalence and correlates of use. Methods: We evaluated trends (1984–2013) in the annual prevalence of current (past 6-month use) and daily (among current users) marijuana use and determined correlates of use among 2742 HIV-seropositive (HIV+) and 3172 HIV-seronegative (HIV−) men who have sex with men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). Poisson regression models were used to estimate prevalence ratios of marijuana use separately for the men who were enrolled before 2001 (early-cohort) and after 2001 (late-cohort). Results: Over the 29 years of the study, the prevalence of current marijuana use declined significantly, whereas daily use among users increased among all men in the early and late-cohorts. A HIV+ status was associated with higher prevalence of marijuana use among the men in the early-cohort (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] = 1.53, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.42, 1.64, p = <0.0001), but not in the men in the late-cohort (aPR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.79, 1.03, p = 0.1424). Alcohol use and cigarette smoking were being positively associated with marijuana use. Conclusions: Although the annual prevalence of current marijuana use decreased significantly over time in the MACS, daily use among users increased significantly. Further, among the HIV+ men, our study did not show clinically significant adverse effects of marijuana use on highly active antiretroviral therapy use, CD4+ count, or HIV viral load.
Acknowledgments
Data in this manuscript were collected by the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) with centers at Baltimore (U01-AI35042): The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health: Joseph B. Margolick (PI), Barbara Crain, Adrian Dobs, Homayoon Farzadegan,Joel Gallant, Lisette Johnson-Hill, Cynthia Munro, Michael W. Plankey, Ned Sacktor, JamesShepard, Chloe Thio; Chicago (U01-AI35039): Feinberg School of Medicine, NorthwesternUniversity, and Cook County Bureau of Health Services: Steven M. Wolinsky (PI), John P. Phair, Sheila Badri, Maurice O’Gorman, David Ostrow, Frank Palella, Ann Ragin; Los Angeles (U01-AI35040): University of California, UCLA Schools of Public Health and Medicine: Roger Detels (PI), Otoniel Martínez-Maza (Co-P I), Aaron Aronow, Robert Bolan, Elizabeth Breen, Anthony Butch, Beth Jamieson, Eric N. Miller, John Oishi, Harry Vinters, Dorothy Wiley, Mallory Witt, Otto Yang, Stephen Young, Zuo Feng Zhang; Pittsburgh (U01-AI35041): University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health: Charles R. Rinaldo (PI), Lawrence A. Kingsley (Co-PI), James T. Becker, Ross D. Cranston, Jeremy J. Martinson, John W. Mellors, Anthony J. Silvestre, Ronald D. Stall; and the Data Coordinating Center (UM1-AI35043): The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health: Lisa P. Jacobson (PI), Alvaro Munoz (Co-PI), Alison, Abraham, Keri Althoff, Christopher Cox, Jennifer Deal,
Gypsyamber D’Souza, Priya Duggal, Janet Schollenberger, Eric C. Seaberg, Sol Su, Pamela Surkan. Website located at http://www.statepi.jhsph.edu/macs/macs.html. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Conflicts of interest
No conflicts declared.
Financial disclosures
The authors report no relevant financial conflicts.
Funding
Chukwuemeka N Okafor is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant number: F31-DA039810). Robert L Cook is supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grant number: U24-AA022002). Steve Shoptaw is supported by the National Institute on Mental Health (grant number: P30MH058107). The MACS is funded primarily by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), with additional co-funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Targeted supplemental funding for specific projects was also provided by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD). MACS data collection is also supported by UL1-TR000424 (JHU CTSA).