Cannabis users had a significantly increased risk for thyroid eye disease (TED), a United States study has found.
The study, published in Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery,1 investigated the association between cannabis usage and TED in patients with autoimmune hyperthyroidism.
Study authors said while the association between cigarette smoking and TED was well established, the effect of cannabis on TED was unclear.
The cohort study examined electronic health record data for patients with autoimmune hyperthyroidism between December 2003 and December 2023. Primary outcomes were TED presentation (exophthalmos, eyelid retraction, eyelid oedema, orbital oedema, strabismus, and optic neuropathy) and treatment (teprotumumab, methylprednisolone, tarsorrhaphy, and orbital decompression) in cannabis users, nicotine users, and control patients.
Relative risk between cohorts was calculated for each outcome in six-month, one-year, and two-year intervals following diagnosis of autoimmune hyperthyroidism.
… cannabis users were 1.9 times more likely to develop exophthalmos… and 1.6 times more likely to develop any TED presentation
Of 36,186 patients with autoimmune hyperthyroidism, 783 were cannabis users, 17,310 were nicotine users, and 18,093 were control patients who used neither substance.
After propensity matching, cannabis users were 1.9 times more likely to develop exophthalmos (p=0.03) and 1.6 times more likely to develop any TED presentation (p=0.049) in the one-year interval, although these differences did not remain statistically significant in the two-year interval.
Reference
- Zong A, Barmettler A. Effect of cannabis usage on thyroid eye disease. Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg. 2025;41(2):179-185. doi: 10.1097/IOP.0000000000002770.
