Associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and cardiometabolic diseases
Otto Simonsson, Walter Osika, Robin Carhart‐Harris, Peter S. Hendricks
Scientific Reports July 13, 2021 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93787-4 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractLifetime use of classic psychedelics is associated with lower odds of heart disease and diabetes. Analyzing data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005–2014), people who had ever tried a classic psychedelic had 23% lower odds of past-year heart disease and 12% lower odds of past-year diabetes. The associations persisted after adjusting for other factors. The authors suggest classic psychedelic use might benefit cardiometabolic health but call for more research on causal pathways.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Respondents from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005–2014) |
| Keywords | Odds ratio Medicine Disease Diabetes mellitus Cardiovascular health |
| Citations | 54 |
| Key finding | Lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with lower odds of past-year heart disease (aOR = 0.77) and lower odds of past-year diabetes (aOR = 0.88). |
Abstract
Abstract The objective of the current study was to investigate the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and cardiometabolic diseases. Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005–2014), the present study examined the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and two types of cardiometabolic disease: heart disease and diabetes. Respondents who reported having tried a classic psychedelic at least once in their lifetime had lower odds of heart disease in the past year (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.77 (0.65–0.92), p = .006) and lower odds of diabetes in the past year (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.88 (0.78–0.99), p = .036). Classic psychedelic use might be beneficial for cardiometabolic health, but more research is needed to investigate potential causal pathways of classic psychedelics on cardiometabolic diseases.