Former cannabis users had higher odds of infertility than never-users, but current users did not
NHANES data showed former cannabis users aged 18-35 had more than double the odds of infertility compared to never-users, particularly those who quit over 3 years ago, while current users showed no elevated risk.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Former cannabis users had 2.04x odds of infertility vs never-users; current users showed no significant difference; among former users 18-35, those abstinent 3+ years had 2.94x odds; shorter abstinence showed no significant difference.
Key Numbers
1,694 women; former users OR 2.04 (95% CI: 1.21-3.43); ages 18-35 former users OR 2.37 (95% CI: 1.11-5.04); 3+ years abstinence OR 2.94 (95% CI: 1.29-6.71); current users: no significant association.
How They Did This
Cross-sectional analysis of NHANES 2013-2018; 1,694 female participants aged 18-45; logistic regression adjusting for covariates; subgroup analyses by age and abstinence duration.
Why This Research Matters
The counterintuitive finding that former (not current) users show elevated infertility risk suggests possible delayed reproductive effects or confounding factors that warrant further investigation.
The Bigger Picture
This unusual pattern where former but not current users show higher infertility risk raises important questions about whether past cannabis use has lasting reproductive effects or whether the finding reflects other factors like why people stopped using.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional design cannot establish causation; former users may have quit due to fertility-related health advice (reverse causation); self-reported cannabis use and infertility; cannot control for all confounders.
Questions This Raises
- ?Did former users quit because they were trying to conceive and already had difficulty?
- ?Could past cannabis use cause lasting reproductive changes?
- ?Would prospective studies replicate this pattern?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Former users abstinent 3+ years had 2.94x higher odds of infertility than never-users
- Evidence Grade:
- Nationally representative dataset with adequate sample size and adjusted analyses, but cross-sectional design makes the unexpected pattern difficult to interpret causally.
- Study Age:
- Published 2025, NHANES 2013-2018 data
- Original Title:
- Association of cannabis use with female infertility based on NHANES.
- Published In:
- Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology : the journal of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 45(1), 2502663 (2025)
- Authors:
- Chen, Chao, Wu, Yang, Pei, Lipeng, Ren, Wei
- Database ID:
- RTHC-06198
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Does cannabis use cause infertility?
The study found former cannabis users had higher odds of infertility, but current users did not. This pattern makes it difficult to conclude direct causation, as reverse causation (quitting due to fertility problems) is possible.
Why would former users have higher risk than current users?
Possible explanations include delayed reproductive effects, or that some women quit cannabis specifically because they were struggling to conceive, creating the appearance of an association.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-06198APA
Chen, Chao; Wu, Yang; Pei, Lipeng; Ren, Wei. (2025). Association of cannabis use with female infertility based on NHANES.. Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology : the journal of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 45(1), 2502663. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443615.2025.2502663
MLA
Chen, Chao, et al. "Association of cannabis use with female infertility based on NHANES.." Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology : the journal of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443615.2025.2502663
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Association of cannabis use with female infertility based on..." RTHC-06198. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/chen-2025-association-of-cannabis-use
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.