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Marijuana Use in Older Adults: Health, Function and Fall-Related Injury

Award Number: R01AG058678
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 06/15/2019
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2026

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Marijuana Use in Older Adults: Health, Function and Fall-Related Injury - The prevalence of marijuana use among older adults is rising dramatically. Marijuana is being promoted as a harmless “herbal” treatment that can be used to treat insomnia, stress, caregiver fatigue, and pain, conditions that are common among the elderly. However, there is a complete lack of data on the effects of marijuana and its active component, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), among older adults. In trials examining the effect of THC-based pharmaceuticals among younger populations and in specific conditions, serious adverse events reported included dizziness, nausea, somnolence, vomiting, disorientation, confusion, loss of balance, and hallucination. These adverse events of THC-based pharmaceuticals provide a framework to understand the potential harms of plant-based marijuana use in older adults. We hypothesize that marijuana use in older adults is associated with fall-related injury, any injury, and hospitalization for altered mental status and mood disorders. In addition, as smoking is the predominant form of use, respiratory complications are also likely. To address the extensive gap in the literature on the potential harms of marijuana in older adults, we propose to construct a cohort of patients 65 years and older in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) using merged national VA and Medicare data. Specifically, we propose to use validated text processing methods to review medical record notes and identify mentions of marijuana use to preliminarily categorize patients into marijuana users and non-users. We will then perform an in-depth 25-minute telephone health interview with each patient to ascertain exposure history and baseline characteristics. After adjusting for the baseline differences between users and non-users using the comprehensive interview data collected and the national VA data available, we will compare the rates of events among 2250 current marijuana users and 2250 non- users during the follow-up period. Our proposal will accomplish four goals: (1): To use a prospective cohort design to examine the association between marijuana use and the primary adverse outcome of all-cause hospitalization and the secondary composite outcome of all-cause hospitalization and death. (2) To use a prospective cohort design to examine the association between marijuana and the secondary outcomes of fall-related injury, any injury, altered mental status, mood disorders, and respiratory infections. (3) To examine whether specific subgroups of older patients are more likely to experience adverse outcomes. (4) To determine whether there is a level of safe use of marijuana in older adults. Though very little is known about the physical harms of marijuana in older adults, it is likely that use of marijuana is associated with adverse effects. Given increasing use among older adults, a better understanding of the risks of marijuana use in this population is urgently needed to disseminate accurate information to the public.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = -$5,030 )
2026	2023	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST # 151	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Aging Research	000	5	7/1/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$5,030
														Subtotal = -$5,030

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2023	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST # 151	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Aging Research	000	5	1/10/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $562,671 )
2023	2023	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Aging Research	000	5	2/22/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$562,671
														Subtotal = $562,671

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $578,070 )
2022	2022	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Aging Research	001	4	6/13/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$57,809
2022	2022	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Aging Research	000	4	2/17/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$520,261
														Subtotal = $578,070

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $597,805 )
2021	2021	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Aging Research	000	3	2/26/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$597,805
														Subtotal = $597,805

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $613,283 )
2020	2020	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Aging Research	000	2	3/24/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$613,283
														Subtotal = $613,283

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $674,449 )
2019	2019	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Aging Research	000	1	6/12/2019	NEW	$628,464
2019	2019	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Aging Research	001	1	8/10/2019	NEW	$45,985
														Subtotal = $674,449

Grand Total All Awards = $3,021,248

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Marijuana Use in Older Adults: Health, Function and Fall-Related Injury

Award Number: R01AG058678

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 06/15/2019

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2026

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