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Abstract: Aims: We investigated the association between cumulative lifetime and current marijuana use with total abdominal adipose tissue (AT), visceral AT, subcutaneous AT, intermuscular AT, and mean liver attenuation (LA) at mid‐life. Design: Longitudinal and cross‐sectional secondary data analysis of participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. Setting: CARDIA field centers in Birmingham, AL; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; and Oakland, CA, USA. Participants: CARDIA participants, aged 18–30 years in 1985–1986, who were present at the clinic examination in 2010–2011 (n = 2902). Measurements: Marijuana use was assessed from responses to self‐administered questionnaires at 8 CARDIA examinations over 25 years, determined as cumulative marijuana‐years and current use status. Non‐contrast computed tomography imaging of the abdomen was obtained in 2010–2011. Findings: In 2010–2011, 84% of participants reported a history of marijuana use with 11% reporting use within the past 30 days. Before adjustment, we observed greater cumulative marijuana use was associated with lower total abdominal and subcutaneous AT volume and lower LA and current marijuana use was associated with lower subcutaneous AT. However, after adjustment for age, sex, race, field center, cigarette pack‐years and current use, regular alcohol consumption, cumulative drink‐years, and physical activity, neither cumulative marijuana use nor current use showed an association with any abdominal adipose depot. Our estimates did not differ by age, sex, or race nor after accounting for cohort attrition. Conclusion: Neither cumulative marijuana use nor current marijuana use is associated with total abdominal, visceral, subcutaneous, or intermuscular adipose tissue, or liver attenuation in mid‐life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long-term cardiovascular health effects of marijuana are understudied. Future cardiovascular disease is often indicated by subclinical atherosclerosis for which carotid intima-media thickness is an established parameter.Methods: Using the data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a cohort of 5115 Black and white women and men at Year 20 visit, we studied the association between carotid intima-media thickness in midlife and lifetime exposure to marijuana (1 marijuana year = 365 days of use) and tobacco smoking (1 pack-year = 20 cigarettes/day for 365 days). We measured carotid intima-media thickness by ultrasound and defined high carotid intima-media thickness at the threshold of the 75th percentile of all examined participants. We fit logistic regression models stratified by tobacco smoking exposure, adjusting for demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, and other drug exposures.Results: Data was complete for 3257 participants; 2722 (84%) reported ever marijuana use; 374 (11%) were current users; 1539 (47%) reported ever tobacco smoking; 610 (19%) were current smokers. Multivariable adjusted models showed no association between cumulative marijuana exposure and high carotid intima-media thickness in never or ever tobacco smokers, odds ratio (OR) 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.63-1.21) at 1 marijuana-year among never smokers and OR 1.11 (95% CI: 0.85-1.45) among ever tobacco smokers. Cumulative exposure to tobacco was strongly associated with high carotid intima-media thickness, OR 1.88 (95%CI: 1.20-2.94) for 20 pack-years of exposure.Conclusions: This study adds to the growing body of evidence that there might be no association between the average population level of marijuana use and subclinical atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]