Largest Multi-Cohort Study Finds No Link Between Prenatal Cannabis and Autism After Controlling for Tobacco
In 11,570 children from 34 cohorts, prenatal cannabis was not associated with autism after controlling for tobacco.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Associations between prenatal cannabis and ASD traits were not significant when controlling for covariates, particularly tobacco. Sex did not moderate.
Key Numbers
11,570 children; 34 cohorts; ages 1-18; 53% male; not significant after controlling for tobacco
How They Did This
Multi-cohort analysis from 34 NIH ECHO cohorts with 11,570 children using generalized linear mixed models.
Why This Research Matters
Largest study to date. Apparent associations disappear when accounting for tobacco, suggesting it is the key confounder.
The Bigger Picture
Strong evidence that prenatal cannabis is not an independent autism risk factor when confounders are accounted for.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Self-reported exposure. Different ASD measures across cohorts. Could not control for potency.
Questions This Raises
- ?Should screening focus more on tobacco?
- ?Do high-potency products pose different risks?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 11,570 children showed no cannabis-autism link after controlling for tobacco
- Evidence Grade:
- Very large multi-cohort study with diverse sample and appropriate controls.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2024.
- Original Title:
- Examining the association between prenatal cannabis exposure and child autism traits: A multi-cohort investigation in the environmental influences on child health outcome program.
- Published In:
- Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 17(8), 1651-1664 (2024)
- Authors:
- Nutor, Chaela(2), Dickerson, Aisha S, Hsu, Tingju, Al-Jadiri, Aseel, Camargo, Carlos A, Schweitzer, Julie B, Shuster, Coral L, Karagas, Margaret R, Madan, Juliette C, Restrepo, Bibiana, Schmidt, Rebecca J, Lugo-Candelas, Claudia, Neiderhiser, Jenae, Sathyanarayana, Sheela, Dunlop, Anne L, Brennan, Patricia A
- Database ID:
- RTHC-05598
Evidence Hierarchy
Enrolls participants and follows them forward in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Does cannabis during pregnancy cause autism?
This large study found no association after controlling for tobacco.
Why does tobacco matter?
When controlled for, the cannabis-autism link disappeared, suggesting tobacco was the real confounder.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-05598APA
Nutor, Chaela; Dickerson, Aisha S; Hsu, Tingju; Al-Jadiri, Aseel; Camargo, Carlos A; Schweitzer, Julie B; Shuster, Coral L; Karagas, Margaret R; Madan, Juliette C; Restrepo, Bibiana; Schmidt, Rebecca J; Lugo-Candelas, Claudia; Neiderhiser, Jenae; Sathyanarayana, Sheela; Dunlop, Anne L; Brennan, Patricia A. (2024). Examining the association between prenatal cannabis exposure and child autism traits: A multi-cohort investigation in the environmental influences on child health outcome program.. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 17(8), 1651-1664. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3185
MLA
Nutor, Chaela, et al. "Examining the association between prenatal cannabis exposure and child autism traits: A multi-cohort investigation in the environmental influences on child health outcome program.." Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3185
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Examining the association between prenatal cannabis exposure..." RTHC-05598. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/nutor-2024-examining-the-association-between
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.