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. 2022 Oct;7(5):677-689.
doi: 10.1089/can.2021.0094. Epub 2021 Oct 13.

Cannabis Use Is Inversely Associated with Overweight and Obesity in Hepatitis B Virus-Infected Patients (ANRS CO22 Hepather Cohort)

Tangui Barré  1 , Stanislas Pol  2 , Clémence Ramier  1 , Vincent Di Beo  1 , Fabrice Carrat  3 , Morgane Bureau  1 , Marc Bourlière  1   4 , Céline Dorival  5 , Lawrence Serfaty  6 , Tarik Asselah  7   8 , Jérôme Boursier  9   10 , Fabienne Marcellin  1 , Patrizia Carrieri  1 , Hélène Fontaine  2 , Camelia Protopopescu  1 ; ANRS/AFEF Hepather Study Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Cannabis Use Is Inversely Associated with Overweight and Obesity in Hepatitis B Virus-Infected Patients (ANRS CO22 Hepather Cohort)

Tangui Barré et al. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may evolve into cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and this progression may be accelerated by specific risk factors, including overweight and obesity. Although evidence for a protective effect of cannabis use on elevated body weight has been found for other populations, no data are available for HBV-infected patients. Aims: We aimed to identify risk factors (including cannabis use) for overweight and obesity in patients with HBV chronic infection. Methods: Using baseline data from the French ANRS CO22 Hepather cohort, we performed two separate analyses, one using "central obesity" (based on waist circumference) and the other "overweight" and "obesity" (based on body mass index) as outcomes. Logistic and multinomial regressions were used to model central obesity and overweight/obesity, respectively. Results: Among the 3706 patients in the study population, 50.8% had central obesity, 34.7% overweight, and 14.4% obesity. After multivariable adjustment, current cannabis use was associated with a 59% lower risk of central obesity compared with no lifetime use (adjusted odds ratio [95% CI]: 0.41 [0.24 to 0.70]). It was also associated with a 54% and 84% lower risk of overweight (adjusted relative risk ratio [95% CI]: 0.46 [0.27 to 0.76]) and obesity (0.16 [0.04 to 0.67]), respectively. Conclusions: Cannabis use was associated with lower risks of overweight and obesity in patients with HBV chronic infection. Future studies should test whether these potential benefits of cannabis and cannabinoid use translate into reduced liver disease progression in this high-risk population.

Keywords: cannabis; hepatitis B virus; obesity; overweight; socioeconomic status.

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Conflict of interest statement

S.P. has served as a speaker, a consultant, and an advisory board member for Janssen, Gilead, Roche, MSD, Abbvie, Biotest, Shinogi, Vivv, and LFB and has received research funding from Gilead, Abbvie, Roche, and MSD with no connection to the present work.

F.C. reports receiving grants from INSERM-ANRS MIE during the implementation of the study, and personal fees from Imaxio, unrelated to the submitted work.

M.B. has served as a speaker, a consultant, and an advisory board member for Gilead, Janssen, Roche, AbbVie, MSD, and Intercept and has received research funding from Gilead, AbbVie, and Roche.

T.A. has served as a consultant, expert, and speaker for Gilead, Abbvie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Janssen, Merck Sharp Dohme, MYR Pharmaceuticals, and Roche.

T.B., C.R., V.D.B., M.B., C.D., L.S., J.B., F.M., P.C., H.F., and C.P. have no competing financial interests.

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Flow chart of the study population (ANRS CO22 Hepather cohort).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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