According to a Pakistani study, adolescents who use cannabis since puberty are 10 cm shorter in adulthood. Results to be confirmed during future work.
This is an argument that will perhaps have its effect on young regular cannabis smokers who are 25% in France today. According to a study Surprisingly presented at the current European Congress of Endocrinology (Dublin), adolescents who use marijuana are said to be prone to growth problems.
To reach this conclusion, scientists from the Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi from Islamabad (Pakistan) followed for the first time 437 prepubescent boys up to the age of 20. They were split into two groups, the first half was made up of smokers addicted to cannabis, the other half made up of non-smokers.
10 cm less at 20 years
During their follow-up, the boys were weighed and measured regularly. The participants also underwent blood tests and saliva samples. And the results are astounding to say the least. Those who have used cannabis since puberty weigh an average of 4 kilograms less by the age of 20. But above all, they are smaller than the others. The authors advance a difference of 10 cm on average compared to non-smokers!
To explain such surprising differences, the authors point out an increase in the levels of certain hormones involved in puberty (testosterone, luteinizing hormone), but also a reduction in the levels of growth hormone in the group of smokers. Endocrine disruptions that could accelerate puberty, while blocking growth.
“Testosterone, which is the hormone of puberty, accelerates growth but also accelerates the consumption of growth cartilages. Suddenly, this leads to a growth spurt which is probably of a shorter duration ”, thinks Dr. Isabelle Flechtner, pediatrician-endocrinologist in Paris, questioned on Europe1.
In addition, researchers also highlight in their work very high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, in marijuana smokers. However, the measurements were only carried out in 10 individuals … For Dr. Raza Rizvi, lead author of the study, “marijuana can cause a stress reaction that stimulates the onset of puberty. “Dr. Isabelle Flechtner concludes:” Everyone makes cortisol, but when you make excess cortisol, it slows down growth. “Previous studies had looked at the effects of the active substances contained in cannabis on the endocrine system, but none had been able to demonstrate such marked effects, and long term. These results, which have not yet been published, therefore remain to be confirmed.
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