Effects of prenatal marijuana exposure on neuropsychological outcomes in children aged 1-11 years: A systematic review

BACKGROUND. Normalization of medicinal and recreational marijuana use has increased the importance of fully understanding effects of marijuana use on individual- and population-level health, including prenatal exposure effects on child development. We undertook a systematic review of the literature to examine the long-term effects of prenatal marijuana exposure on neuropsychological function in children aged 1–11 years. METHODS. Primary research publications were searched from Medline, Embase, PsychInfo, CINAHL EbscoHost, Cochrane Library, Global Health, and ERIC (1980–2018). Eligible articles documented neuropsychological outcomes in children 1–11 years who had been prenatally exposed to marijuana. Studies of exposure to multiple prenatal drugs were included if results for marijuana exposure were reported separately from other substances. Data abstraction was independently performed by two reviewers using a standardized protocol. RESULTS. The eligible articles (n=21) on data from seven independent longitudinal studies, had high quality based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Some analyses found associations (p