Marijuana Use in Patients with Gastroparesis

Aim: The primary aim was to determine the prevalence of marijuana use among patients hospitalized for gastroparesis. The secondary aim was to identify independent variables associated with marijuana use compared with nonmarijuana-related gastroparesis hospitalization.

Methods: We use the nationwide inpatient sample database from January 2012 to December 2014. The patients included in this study were the ones with primary diagnosis of gastroparesis and marijuana use. The analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 27 (SPSS) and a multivariable regression was conducted to identify independent variables.

Results: We found 50,170 patients with a primary diagnosis of gastroparesis. The prevalence of marijuana use among patients hospitalized for gastroparesis was 4.2%. Multivariate regression analysis was performed, adjusting for confounders. The variables found to increase the odds of cannabis use in gastroparesis populations independently were age interval of 18-35 and 36-50 years, male, Black and Asian, median household income 1-25th percentile, Medicaid insurance, no charge hospitalization, and smoking. Cannabis use was associated with lower odds of vomiting.

Conclusion: Patients who used marijuana were younger and of African American, Asian, or Pacific Islander descent. They had Medicaid insurance and a lower median household income.