{"id":12325,"date":"2026-06-03T09:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T23:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/?p=12325"},"modified":"2026-06-03T09:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T23:51:15","slug":"cannabinoid-impacts-on-ethnic-modulation-of-atrial-septal-defect-prevalence-usa-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/cannabinoid-impacts-on-ethnic-modulation-of-atrial-septal-defect-prevalence-usa-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Cannabinoid impacts on ethnic modulation of atrial septal defect prevalence USA"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Professors Albert Stuart Reece\u00a0<\/sup>,\u00a0Gary Kenneth Hulse\u00a0<\/sup><\/p>

Abstract<\/strong><\/p>

Objective:\u00a0<\/strong>To conduct a detailed epidemiological exploration of the relative contributions of cannabis and ethnicity to US atrial septal defect (ASD) rates (ASDR).<\/p>

Study design:\u00a0<\/strong>State-based ASDR data from the US National Births Defects Prevention Network, substance use, income and ethnicity data analysed in RStudio.<\/p>

Results:\u00a0<\/strong>Ethnic effects were significant with relative risks amongst African Americans and American Indians and Alaskan Natives of 2\u00b740 (95%C.I. 2\u00b727, 2\u00b754) and 2\u00b731 (2\u00b719, 21\u00b743), Cohen’s D of 1\u00b744 and 1\u00b746 and P values of 2\u00b794 \u00d7 10-168<\/sup>\u00a0and 3\u00b701 \u00d7 10-172<\/sup>\u00a0compared to others, respectively. In general, additive models inclusion of ethnicity: cannabinoid and ethnicity: tobacco interactions were significant down to P=zero for cannabis, \u03949THC and cannabidiol. Sequentially doubly robust targeted multiple likelihood estimations confirmed epidemiologically causal relationships under standard assumptions. ASDR amongst Asians and Pacific Islanders in Nevada showed an exponential doubling time of 2.83 years.<\/p>

Conclusions:\u00a0<\/strong>Cannabinoid and cannabinoid: ethnicity interactions drive ASDR and meet epidemiological causal criteria.<\/p>

(Research: N.I.H<\/strong> National Library of Medicine<\/a><\/strong>)<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Media Release<\/strong> \u2013 Drug Free Australia<\/p>

A landmark new study published by one of world\u2019s most elite scientific journals, Nature – Journal of Perinatology, has demonstrated that rising US cannabis use is causally responsible for exponential increases in a birth defect commonly called \u2018hole in the heart\u2019 or Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), where US rates that measured 10.3 cases for every 10,000 births in 2005 have moved amongst certain ethnicities to as high as 884\/10,000 in Nevada and Mississippi in 2020, or about 1 in 11 babies affected.<\/em><\/p>

The study used careful statistical adjustments to show that the effect was truly causal. The findings are even more significant when it is recognized that many common birth defects lead to the termination of a pregnancy, whereas ASD generally doesn\u2019t. This means that the causal role of cannabis in this particular birth defect may be the canary in the coal mine, signalling not only the likely involvement of cannabis in other birth defects but that these rises in ASD rates are the bellwether marker for other cannabinoid genotoxic effects including human aging and some cancers.<\/em><\/p>

In Nevada careful statistical modelling shows an exponential rate of rise. Across the USA ASD rates are rising faster than exponentially. As one reviewer of the paper wrote:<\/em><\/p>

\u201c\u2026Regarding statistical analysis and “causation” this manuscript has relevance to paediatric cardiologists, neonatologists, and above all to obstetricians who should more strongly advise against the use of cannabis (in any form) during pregnancy. Indeed, this reviewer believes that this is a landmark study, and with the revised data analysis, much more strongly points to causation rather than mere association. Extremely important for public health advisories against cannabis use during pregnancy (and most probably for paternal cannabis use during partner’s pregnancy).\u201d<\/em><\/p>

Other peer-reviewed cannabis population studies by the same researchers show that cannabis is causal in twice as many cancers as tobacco and numerous other birth defects in the both Europe and USA. The effects on human ageing are extremely concerning indeed when rolled out across whole populations including eggs, sperm and babies.<\/em><\/p>

Says Gary Christian, President of Drug Free Australia, \u201cThis is an issue that the media urgently needs to bring to the attention of the Australian people given a heavy reliance in this country on medicinal cannabis, which presents all of these risks to both the child bearing and general populations.\u201d This is a discussion we urgently need to have.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Professors Albert Stuart Reece\u00a0,\u00a0Gary Kenneth Hulse\u00a0 Abstract Objective:\u00a0To conduct a detailed epidemiological exploration of the relative contributions of cannabis and ethnicity to US atrial septal defect (ASD) rates (ASDR). Study design:\u00a0State-based ASDR data from the US National Births Defects Prevention Network, substance use, income and ethnicity data analysed in RStudio. Results:\u00a0Ethnic effects were significant with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cannabis-conundrum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12325"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12326,"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12325\/revisions\/12326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}