new research from the washington university in st. louis suggests that people who have a genetic predisposition to, or an actual diagnosis of cannabis use disorder , (cud) may want to be extra-vigilant.
published in the journal biological psychiatry: global open science, the study sought to examine the factors that may increase the risk of experiencing poorer outcomes after contracting covid-19.
people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, obesity or sickle cell disease, those who smoke tobacco and individuals over the age of 65 are known to be at an increased risk of a poor outcome, per resources such as the b.c. centre for disease control , the canadian government and the mayo clinic . but authors of the new research suggest that those who engage in “problematic cannabis use” may also be at an elevated risk.
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“we found that a person’s genetic risk for cannabis use disorder is correlated with their risk for covid-19, without having to ask directly about illegal substance use,” hatoum says in a university article , suggesting that cutting down on heavy cannabis use may help mitigate the severity of covid-19 symptoms.
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