Amelia K Wesselink, Ruth J Geller, Alyssa F Harlow, Collette N Ncube, Krystal E Kuan, David A Savitz, Kenneth J Rothman, Michael L Eisenberg, Lauren A Wise
{"title":"A Prospective Study of Preconception and Early Pregnancy Cannabis Use and Birth Outcomes.","authors":"Amelia K Wesselink, Ruth J Geller, Alyssa F Harlow, Collette N Ncube, Krystal E Kuan, David A Savitz, Kenneth J Rothman, Michael L Eisenberg, Lauren A Wise","doi":"10.1111/ppe.70201","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Cannabis use among reproductive-aged individuals is common, yet there are gaps in our understanding of the effect of cannabis use on adverse birth outcomes.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To determine the extent to which female and male preconception cannabis use and female early pregnancy cannabis use are associated with the incidence of preterm birth (PTB), small-for-gestational-age birth (SGA), and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) birth.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analysed data from Pregnancy Study Online, an internet-based preconception cohort study of couples trying to conceive. Eligible participants were aged 21-45 years (female) and ≥ 21 years (male) and residents of the United States or Canada. We followed 6838 couples who conceived between June 2013 and September 2024. Both partners completed preconception baseline questionnaires; female participants completed preconception follow-up questionnaires every 8 weeks, at early (< 12 weeks) and late pregnancy (~32 weeks), and at 6 months postpartum. Participants self-reported cannabis use during preconception (female and male) and early pregnancy (female only). We ascertained birthweight and gestational age from birth certificates and questionnaires and defined PTB (delivery < 37 gestational weeks) and SGA and LGA (< 10th and > 90th percentiles of birthweight, respectively, for gestational age and sex). We fit Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for potential confounders.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Preconception cannabis use was not appreciably associated with PTB (≥ 1 per week vs. non-use: HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.71, 1.57 for females and HR 1.41, 95% CI 0.73, 2.75 for males). Higher frequency of female cannabis use in early pregnancy was associated with an increased incidence of PTB, although results were imprecise (≥ 1 per week vs. non-use: HR 1.87, 95% CI 1.06, 3.29; < 1/week vs. non-use: HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.36, 2.02). Cannabis use in either partner was not associated with the incidence of SGA or LGA.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our results support the existing evidence that cannabis use during early pregnancy is a risk factor for PTB.</p>","PeriodicalId":19698,"journal":{"name":"Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2026-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13679655/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ppe.70201","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Cannabis use among reproductive-aged individuals is common, yet there are gaps in our understanding of the effect of cannabis use on adverse birth outcomes.
Objective: To determine the extent to which female and male preconception cannabis use and female early pregnancy cannabis use are associated with the incidence of preterm birth (PTB), small-for-gestational-age birth (SGA), and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) birth.
Methods: We analysed data from Pregnancy Study Online, an internet-based preconception cohort study of couples trying to conceive. Eligible participants were aged 21-45 years (female) and ≥ 21 years (male) and residents of the United States or Canada. We followed 6838 couples who conceived between June 2013 and September 2024. Both partners completed preconception baseline questionnaires; female participants completed preconception follow-up questionnaires every 8 weeks, at early (< 12 weeks) and late pregnancy (~32 weeks), and at 6 months postpartum. Participants self-reported cannabis use during preconception (female and male) and early pregnancy (female only). We ascertained birthweight and gestational age from birth certificates and questionnaires and defined PTB (delivery < 37 gestational weeks) and SGA and LGA (< 10th and > 90th percentiles of birthweight, respectively, for gestational age and sex). We fit Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for potential confounders.
Results: Preconception cannabis use was not appreciably associated with PTB (≥ 1 per week vs. non-use: HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.71, 1.57 for females and HR 1.41, 95% CI 0.73, 2.75 for males). Higher frequency of female cannabis use in early pregnancy was associated with an increased incidence of PTB, although results were imprecise (≥ 1 per week vs. non-use: HR 1.87, 95% CI 1.06, 3.29; < 1/week vs. non-use: HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.36, 2.02). Cannabis use in either partner was not associated with the incidence of SGA or LGA.
Conclusions: Our results support the existing evidence that cannabis use during early pregnancy is a risk factor for PTB.
期刊介绍:
Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology crosses the boundaries between the epidemiologist and the paediatrician, obstetrician or specialist in child health, ensuring that important paediatric and perinatal studies reach those clinicians for whom the results are especially relevant. In addition to original research articles, the Journal also includes commentaries, book reviews and annotations.