Public Health Implications of Rising Marijuana Use in Pregnancy in an Age of Increasing Legalization

Abstract

mothers living in a lower-risk home environment. 1 This indicates that the differences in heritability estimates cannot be entirely explained by the differences in parental education. In addition, parental educational level is not a feasible modifiable target for public health interventions; rather, the specific environmental exposures captured in the home environment measure (eg, food availability in the home) need to be targeted. Therefore, in our view, parental education cannot be used as a proxy measure for the complex environment that is the family home.We thank Dissanayake for highlighting the validity of BMI as a measure of adiposity. Our research group has previously validated parent-report measures of the heights and weights of twin children by examining the correlations between parent and researcher measures in a sample of 228 families (height: Pearson r = 0.90; weight: Pearson r = 0.83). 3 Body mass index remains the most feasible way to estimate adiposity in adults and children, 4 especially in large numbers, such as the Gemini cohort (the sample used in our study 1 ). It is also the most commonly used measure of adiposity, allowing for comparison with future studies and meta-analyses. In relation to ethnicity, only 5% of those who completed the home environment measure identified as nonwhite. This was too small to allow us to undertake analyses stratified by ethnicity. We thank Dissanayake for suggesting epigenetic factors as a potential mechanism involved in the development of childhood obesity. This area of research is of great interest to many obesity researchers 5 but was not the focus of this study, and epigenetic data are not available in this sample.

Cannabis Use during Pregnancy and Risk of Adverse Birth Outcomes: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

“…However, recent research suggests that regular use of cannabis in men causes epigenetic changes in sperm cells [23], and paternal cannabis use during pregnancy has, potentially, further epigenetic effects [24]. Studying effects of paternal cannabis use during pregnancy is encouraged [25].…”

Lifestyle characteristics of parental electronic cigarette and marijuana users: healthy or not?

“…Marijuana and traditional cigarette use occur in up to 21% of young adults [17]. In contrast to alcohol and combustible tobacco consumption, marijuana use is increasing among pregnant women coincident with state-based legalization [18,19]. Rates of marijuana use may be further underestimated based on self-report alone as Young-Wolff et al [20] found that prevalence of marijuana use during pregnancy was higher based on toxicology than by patient recall [20].…”