Poster Session 05 Program Schedule
02/15/2024
02:30 pm - 03:45 pm
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)
Poster Session 05: Neuropsychiatry | Addiction/Dependence | Stress/Coping | Emotional/Social Processes
Final Abstract #77
Cannabis use in older adults: Preliminary neuropsychological test findings
Kyler Mulhauser, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
Jessica Bair, Iowa City VA Health Care System, Iowa City, United States
Anthony Correro, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States
Category: Aging
Keyword 1: cannabis
Keyword 2: cognitive functioning
Objective:
Older adults (≥ 65 years) are using cannabis at unprecedented rates and are the fastest growing age segment among both new cannabis users and daily cannabis consumers. Yet older adults are underrepresented in cannabis research, and the relationship between cannabis use and cognitive aging is poorly understood. We investigated the associations between cannabis use and cognitive functioning in older adults enrolled in the University of Michigan Memory and Aging Project.
Participants and Methods:
Participants (n=588) reported on past six-month cannabis use (yes/no) and completed comprehensive neuropsychological assessments. Approximately 11% of participants endorsed past six-month cannabis use, with the cannabis group being approximately 2.5 years younger than the non-cannabis group (age 70.0 vs. 72.4). Age-adjusted group differences in neuropsychological test performances were evaluated using multiple linear regression.
Results:
Results revealed that cognitive performance was comparable between groups on most tasks, with the cannabis group performing better on some tasks. Specifically, recent cannabis use was associated with significantly better (p<.05) performance on measures of delayed story recall (β=0.09) and confrontation naming (β=0.10) with similar trends (p<.10) observed for immediate story recall (β=0.07), word list recognition memory (β=0.09), and semantic fluency tasks (β=0.08). The cannabis group did not perform worse than the non-cannabis group on any neuropsychological measures.
Conclusions:
Findings from this preliminary investigation suggest neutral or positive associations between past six-month cannabis use and cognitive functioning in older adults. These findings are consistent with other trends in the literature, although interpretation of these and similar findings are limited by a lack of comprehensive data regarding older adult cannabis use patterns, medical status, medication use, mood, and other relevant clinical factors that may contribute to these outcomes. Additional research is necessary to fully characterize and contextualize associations between cannabis use and cognition in older adults.
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