ArticleAmerican journal of preventive medicine2026
Epidemiology of Cannabis Use Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the U.S.
Article in American journal of preventive medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Development of a Decision Aid to Support Shared Decision-Making on Cannabis Use for Arthritis: Protocol for a Multiphase Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Navigating dose-effect complexities and challenges in cannabinoid therapy for aging-related neurobiological changes.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionThe prevalence of medical cannabis use, consumption methods, other key cannabis behaviors, and attitudes toward use is understudied, and associations with any cannabis use among U.S. middle-age and older adults is of particular interest because they are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of cannabis.
methodsHealth and Retirement Study data (N=1,324) were analyzed, calculating weighted prevalence for cannabis measures, including past-year use, consumption methods, medical use, health conditions for which cannabis was used, healthcare provider recommendations, attitudes toward acceptability, risks, and legalization, by primary age groups (50-64 and ≥65 years) and specified older age groups (65-74 and ≥75 years) and sex. Associations with any cannabis use were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for sex, race/ethnicity, household income, and employment.
resultsPast-year cannabis use in the U.S. was reported by 18.5% and 5.9% of middle-age and older adults, respectively. Smoking was the primary consumption method in both groups. Approximately 25% of middle-aged adults and 20% of older adults who used cannabis consumed it for medical purposes, with ∼20% of those receiving a prescription or recommendation. Over 75% of individuals in both age groups viewed medical use as acceptable, and older adults were more likely to view cannabis as a gateway drug and to support restrictions of cannabis laws.
conclusionsCannabis use among both middle-aged and older U.S. adults is higher than previously reported in state- and national-level studies, with many engaging in cannabis behaviors associated with increased harm. Greater public health and clinical efforts are needed for tailored prevention and intervention strategies.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.