Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Oregon Health & Science University researchers have found that consuming cannabis while pregnant could affect fetal lung development and function, potentially leading to the development of chronic respiratory health conditions, such as asthma, in adolescence and adulthood.
The study, published today in the journal American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology , is part of ongoing research by OHSU scientists to understand the potential long-term impacts of prenatal cannabis exposure. It is the first study to examine the effects of maternal THC consumption on their offspring’s respiratory health.
"These findings add to the growing evidence that prenatal cannabis exposure may adversely affect offspring development," said the study’s corresponding author, Jamie Lo, M.D., M.C.R., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology (maternal-fetal medicine) in the OHSU School of Medicine and the Division of Reproductive and Developmental Sciences at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at OHSU.
"As the prevalence of prenatal cannabis use is rising, there is an urgent need for evidence-driven recommendations on the safety of use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding."
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, a substance growing in popularity and availability in the United States. Cannabis use in pregnancy is prevalent, especially during the first trimester—a time when the fetus is most vulnerable to environmental exposures—to mitigate common symptoms like morning sickness, Lo says.
However, she says, the limited available evidence-based data on its use during pregnancy has led to a lack of awareness among the public regarding potential risks and hinders clinicians from counseling patients effectively on possible adverse effects.
The research involved a multidisciplinary team, including Lo and OHSU colleagues Lyndsey Shorey-Kendrick, Ph.D., Adam Crosland, M.D., M.P.H., Matthias Schabel, Ph.D., Cindy McEvoy, M.D., and senior author Eliot Spindel, M.D., Ph.D.
In a model using nonhuman primates , researchers administered THC in a daily edible and compared its effects with a group receiving a placebo. Researchers first measured blood-oxygen levels in developing lungs using fetal magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, at mid-second trimester and early third trimester, followed by pulmonary function testing of infants at 6 months old.
Maternal THC edible consumption resulted in […]
THC use during pregnancy could affect fetal lung development and future respiratory health
