What topics does this cannabis study cover?

This study covers research on: Mental Health, Addiction.

Where was this research published?

Published in American journal of preventive medicine on June 16, 2026.

Poverty linked to higher prenatal cannabis use in new study

Q: What did this research study find?

This large-scale study of over **173,000 pregnancies** reveals a striking and counterintuitive pattern: neighborhood poverty and deprivation show dramatically different associations with prenatal alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine use. Using electronic health records from Kaiser Permanente Northern Cal

Neighborhood Deprivation and Contrasting Patterns of Prenatal Alcohol, Cannabis, and Nicotine Use.

American journal of preventive medicine • June 16, 2026 • Moderately Relevant

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AI Summary

This large-scale study of over 173,000 pregnancies reveals a striking and counterintuitive pattern: neighborhood poverty and deprivation show dramatically different associations with prenatal alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine use. Using electronic health records from Kaiser Permanente Northern California, researchers found that pregnant women in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods had significantly lower rates of alcohol use but nearly double the rates of cannabis and nicotine use compared to those in the least deprived areas.

The research measured neighborhood deprivation using census data and analyzed substance use screening results from 2020-2024. Overall prevalence rates showed 9.6% prenatal alcohol use, 8.9% cannabis use, and 2.0% nicotine use. However, the relationships with neighborhood deprivation diverged sharply: alcohol use decreased with neighborhood deprivation (adjusted prevalence ratio: 0.87), while cannabis use increased by 80% (adjusted prevalence ratio: 1.80) and nicotine use jumped by 96% (adjusted prevalence ratio: 1.96) in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived.

These findings highlight an important public health reality—that substance use patterns during pregnancy are shaped by complex social and economic factors that operate differently across different drugs. The study emphasizes that one-size-fits-all prevention approaches won't work effectively, and interventions must account for how neighborhood context influences the specific substances pregnant women use. Understanding these patterns is crucial for developing targeted, equitable health interventions that address the underlying social determinants driving prenatal substance use.

📄 Original Abstract

Neighborhood context is an important social determinant of health behaviors, including substance use, but less is known about whether neighborhood deprivation is similarly or differentially related to prenatal use of alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine. Using electronic health record data from Kaiser Permanente Northern California, this retrospective observational study examined geographic variation in prenatal alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine use and evaluated whether neighborhood deprivation was associated with use of these substances during pregnancy. The sample included 173,578 pregnancies (November 2020-December 2024) among members with prenatal screening for substance use during early pregnancy as part of standard care. Neighborhood deprivation index (NDI) from geocoded census data was categorized into quartiles. Choropleth maps visualized tract-level prevalence of prenatal substance use, and modified Poisson regression models estimated associations between NDI quartiles and prenatal substance use using individual-level data. Data were analyzed July 2025-Feburary 2026. Prevalence of prenatal alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine was 9.6%, 8.9% and 2.0%, respectively. Compared with pregnancies in the least deprived neighborhoods, those in the most deprived neighborhoods had a lower prevalence of prenatal alcohol use (aPR [95% CI] = 0.87 [0.84, 0.92]), but higher prevalence of prenatal cannabis (aPR [95% CI] =1.80 [1.70, 1.90]) and nicotine use (aPR [95% CI] = 1.96 [1.74, 2.20]). Neighborhood deprivation showed opposing associations across substances, with lower alcohol use but substantially higher cannabis and nicotine use in more deprived neighborhoods. Findings underscore the importance of considering neighborhood context and type of substance when developing preventive interventions.

Paper Type

📄 Research

Publication

Journal: American journal of preventive medicine
Published: June 16, 2026
PMID: 42303140
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2026.108485

Authors (9)

Kelly C Young-Wolff Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Pleasanton, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: Kelly.c.young-wolff@Kp.org.
Felicia W Chi Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Pleasanton, CA, USA.
Cynthia I Campbell Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Pleasanton, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Monique B Does Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Pleasanton, CA, USA.
Jackson L Voelkel Quality Data, Analytics, and Reporting (QDAR), National Hospital and Health Plan Quality, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Program Offices, Portland, OR, USA.
+4 more authors