Study Shows Cannabis Could Help Reduce Diabetes Risk in Hepatitis C Patients

A recent study looked at how cannabis can help those previously diagnosed with hepatitis C avoid risk of diabetes. It revealed that those who use cannabis are less likely to develop diabetes as a result of the hepatitis C. 

The research came from the Journal of Viral Hepatitis, and was conducted by French researchers who wanted to understand the correlation of cannabis use with preventing diabetes. The study looked at over 10,000 subjects who had been diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) prior to the study. Their research showed that the subjects who claimed to use cannabis were just about half, or 49 percent, as likely to have diabetes as those who were not regular users. Even those who had used cannabis in the past had a reduced risk of diabetes compared to those who had never used it. However, the strongest correlation was with those who self-identified as regular users of cannabis. 

This is important information to gain because chronic hepatitis C raises the risk factor for insulin resistance, meaning those with HCV are more likely to develop diabetes than those who are not Hep-C positive specifically because of their condition. They can be more at risk to develop the condition even if they watch other factors that could contribute to it, so research is actively being done to help medicate this risk.