Associations between Prenatal and Postnatal Exposure to Cannabis with Cognition and Behavior at Age 5 Years: The Healthy Start Study

Brianna F. Moore (), Kaytlyn A. Salmons, Adrienne T. Hoyt, Karli S. Swenson, Emily A. Bates, Katherine A. Sauder, Allison L. B. Shapiro, Greta Wilkening, Gregory L. Kinney, Andreas M. Neophytou, Cristina Sempio, Jost Klawitter, Uwe Christians and Dana Dabelea
Additional contact information
Brianna F. Moore: Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, Health Science Center, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA
Kaytlyn A. Salmons: Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
Adrienne T. Hoyt: Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science, Health Science Center, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA
Karli S. Swenson: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
Emily A. Bates: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
Katherine A. Sauder: Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
Allison L. B. Shapiro: Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
Greta Wilkening: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
Gregory L. Kinney: Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
Andreas M. Neophytou: Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
Cristina Sempio: Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
Jost Klawitter: Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
Uwe Christians: Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
Dana Dabelea: Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO 80045, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Background: Prenatal exposure to cannabis may influence childhood cognition and behavior, but the epidemiologic evidence is mixed. Even less is known about the potential impact of secondhand exposure to cannabis during early childhood. Objective: This study sought to assess whether prenatal and/or postnatal exposure to cannabis was associated with childhood cognition and behavior. Study design: This sub-study included a convenience sample of 81 mother–child pairs from a Colorado-based cohort. Seven common cannabinoids (including delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD)) and their metabolites were measured in maternal urine collected mid-gestation and child urine collected at age 5 years. Prenatal and postnatal exposure to cannabis was dichotomized as exposed (detection of any cannabinoid) and not exposed. Generalized linear models examined the associations between prenatal or postnatal exposure to cannabis with the NIH Toolbox and Child Behavior Checklist T-scores at age 5 years. Results: In this study, 7% ( n = 6) of the children had prenatal exposure to cannabis and 12% ( n = 10) had postnatal exposure to cannabis, with two children experiencing this exposure at both time points. The most common cannabinoid detected in pregnancy was Δ9-THC, whereas the most common cannabinoid detected in childhood was CBD. Postnatal exposure to cannabis was associated with more aggressive behavior (β: 3.2; 95% CI: 0.5, 5.9), attention deficit/hyperactivity problems (β: 8.0; 95% CI: 2.2, 13.7), and oppositional/defiant behaviors (β: 3.2; 95% CI: 0.2, 6.3), as well as less cognitive flexibility (β: −15.6; 95% CI: −30.0, −1.2) and weaker receptive language (β: −9.7; 95% CI: −19.2, −0.3). By contrast, prenatal exposure to cannabis was associated with fewer internalizing behaviors (mean difference: −10.2; 95% CI: −20.3, −0.2) and fewer somatic complaints (mean difference: −5.2, 95% CI: −9.8, −0.6). Conclusions: Our study suggests that postnatal exposure to cannabis is associated with more behavioral and cognitive problems among 5-year-old children, independent of prenatal and postnatal exposure to tobacco. The potential risks of cannabis use (including smoking and vaping) during pregnancy and around young children should be more widely communicated to parents.

Keywords: cannabis; cannabidiol; delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol; behavior; cognition; aggression; attention deficit and disruptive behavior disorders; language development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/6/4880/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/6/4880/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:6:p:4880-:d:1093236

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().