TOPLINE:

Among young adults with asthma, inhalation of marijuana — by smoking, vaping, or both — was significantly associated with higher odds of asthma attacks within 1 year than no marijuana use.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a secondary analysis of a nationally representative cohort of young adults in the US to evaluate the association between marijuana inhalation and asthma attacks.
• They included 4477 young adults with asthma (age, 18-34 years; 48.97% men) who were surveyed between 2016 and 2021 and followed up for approximately 1 year.
• Adults were categorized at baseline according to marijuana use in the past 12 months as nonusers, combustible marijuana users only, electronic marijuana users only, or both combustible and electronic marijuana users.
• Asthma attacks in the past 12 months were self-reported by adults and defined as worsening asthma requiring treatment with oral or injected corticosteroids to prevent serious outcomes.
• Asthma control was assessed using the Asthma Control Test (ACT) score (ranging from 5 to 25), with a score > 19 indicating well-controlled asthma.

TAKEAWAY:

• At the 1-year follow-up, asthma attacks were reported in 7.17% of combustible-only marijuana users, 7.83% of electronic-only marijuana users, 6.94% of dual users, and 4.66% of nonusers.
• After adjusting for covariates, adults who inhaled combustible marijuana, electronic marijuana, or both had 64%, 81%, and 57% higher odds of asthma attacks, respectively, than nonusers (P < .05 for all).
• At baseline, individuals with a history of asthma attacks and those on asthma medications had approximately threefold and twofold higher odds of asthma attacks, respectively (P < .001 for both).
• Higher baseline asthma control was associated with fewer asthma attacks; each one-point increase in the baseline ACT score reduced the odds of an asthma attack by 9% at 1 year (P < .001).

IN PRACTICE:

“These findings indicate that marijuana exposure may contribute to asthma morbidity, highlighting the importance of screening and addressing its use in clinical assessments,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Felicia Tanu, University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, Connecticut. It was published online on March 16, 2026, in Chest.

LIMITATIONS:

Asthma attacks were identified through self-reported corticosteroid use, possibly underestimating the occurrence of attacks and missing milder events. Marijuana dose and frequency of use were not captured. The analysis was limited to a 1-year follow-up period and spanned 2016-2021, including the COVID pandemic, which may have introduced unmeasured confounding.

DISCLOSURES:

The study did not receive any funding. The authors reported having no relevant conflicts of interest or financial disclosures.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.