Authors :
Presenting Author: Katarzyna Czerniak, MLA, MPH, PhD – UTHealth Houston School of Public Health
Youngran Kim, PhD – UTHealth Houston School of Public Health
Robert Addy, PhD. – UTHealth Houston
Sahiti Myneni, PhD – UTHealth Houston D. Bradley McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics
Refugio Sepulveda, PhD – University of Arizona
Ross Shegog, PhD – UTHealth Houston School of Public Health
Rationale:
Cannabis is used as a treatment for epilepsy despite mixed evidence of efficacy. However, the prevalence of cannabis use disorders (CUD) among people with epilepsy (PWE) is understudied. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of CUD among adult PWE in the United States using IQVIA PharMetrics® Plus for Academics Closed Health plan claims data.
Methods:
A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using 2022 IQVIA PharMetrics® Plus for Academics Closed Health plan claims data containing a longitudinal view of inpatient and outpatient services, prescription and office/outpatient administered drugs, costs and detailed enrollment information. ICD-10-CM codes were used to identify epilepsy and CUD among adult PWE. Additional determinants identified were mood disorders, anxiety, tobacco use, alcohol use, migraines, and sleep apnea. Modified Poisson regressions were conducted to report risk ratios (RRs).
Results:
The prevalence of CUDs among U.S. PWE was 1.1% based on 2022 data drawn from an analytic sample of 63,713 unique enrollees. PWE with CUD were more likely to be young adult males and those 18-34 years old. PWE with CUD had six times more tobacco use and three times more mood disorders than those without CUD. Being 18 to 24 years old was associated with a more than five times greater risk for CUD among PWE compared to being 65+ (aRR: 5.04, 95% CI: 3.83 – 6.65, P-value: < .001). Tabacco and alcohol use were associated with 6-fold increase (aRR: 5.8, 95% CI: 4.89 – 7.06, P-value: < .000) and 3-fold increased risk (aRR: