Discussion
In this cross-sectional study of marijuana, CBD, e-cigarette, and
cigarette use in teenagers and adults with CF, we found that a
substantial proportion of pwCF engaged in experimentation with at least
one of these substances over their lifetime. Surprisingly, approximately
one-quarter (xx%) of subjects surveyed reported currently using either
marijuana, CBD, e-cigarettes, or cigarettes, with marijuana and
e-cigarettes being the most commonly used substance.
We found notable differences in the prevalence of marijuana,
e-cigarette, and cigarette usage in pwCF compared to prior studies. Our
study reports the prevalence of CBD usage in pwCF for the first time,
showing a prevalence of 22% (n=49). In a cross-sectional study of
teenagers and young adults with CF, Hamberger and colleagues found that
27.4% (n=51) of subjects used marijuana, 15.2% (n=51) used
e-cigarettes and 25.7% (n=87) used cigarettes in their lifetime.
However, their study did not investigate current
usage7. In our study, we found a much higher
prevalence of lifetime use of marijuana (43.4%), e-cigarettes (30.1%),
and cigarettes (27.9%). We also found a higher prevalence of current
users than other studies with 29.4% (n=66) of subjects reporting
marijuana use in the last year. In contrast, a cross-sectional study of
six CF centers found a lower prevalence, with 16.5% reporting marijuana
use in their lifetime and 15.4% in the last year6.
This study by Stephen and colleagues6 focused on usage
and attitudes towards medical marijuana in pwCF, while our study focused
on all use of marijuana in pwCF. The higher prevalence of marijuana
usage likely reflected the changing legalization of marijuana in the
United States in recent years. The higher prevalence of usage of the
other substances in our study also reflected broader trends in substance
use in the United States; our data is consistent with national data from
the general U.S. population, showing that 43% of Americans used
marijuana, 19% vaped nicotine, 22% vaped marijuana, and 19% used
cigarettes in the last year2.