Use and co-use of tobacco and cannabis before, during, and after pregnancy: A longitudinal analysis of waves 1-5 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study.

Abstract

Objective: Co-use of tobacco and cannabis may be prevalent in pregnancy, potentially leading to additional adverse health outcomes. Utilizing a national sample of women followed prospectively before, during, and after pregnancy, this study tested whether prepregnancy co-use of tobacco and cannabis (vs. tobacco-only use and cannabis-only use) was associated with greater likelihood of continuing to use tobacco and/or cannabis during pregnancy and postpartum.

Method: Data were drawn from Waves 1-5 (2013-2019) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. Prepregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum data were captured and stacked over three intervals (Waves 1-3, 2-4, and 3-5). Participants were N = 686 U.S. women (72% White, 46% age 25-34) who were currently pregnant during the middle wave of an interval. Rates of tobacco-only use, cannabis-only use, and tobacco and cannabis co-use at all three time points were examined.

Results: Generalized estimating equation models demonstrated that pregnant women who reported prepregnancy tobacco and cannabis co-use (vs. tobacco-only or cannabis-only use) were more likely to continue to use tobacco and/or cannabis during pregnancy and relapse in postpartum (p < .05). Among women who endorsed prepregnancy co-use and continued to use tobacco and/or cannabis in pregnancy, about half transitioned to tobacco-only use (45.16%).

Conclusions: Findings underscore the need for further clinical and empirical focus on dynamic patterns of use/co-use of tobacco and cannabis across the perinatal period, including cessation interventions to reduce tobacco and cannabis use in pregnancy and protect against relapse in postpartum. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).