Integrative Medicine Alert – November 1, 2021
November 1, 2021
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Cannabis Use and Associated Health Conditions in Primary Care: An EHR Review
This cross-sectional review of 185,565 patients’ medical records revealed documentation of medicinal cannabis use in 2% of the records. Within this subgroup, 44.5% had documentation of one or more health conditions potentially benefitting from treatment with cannabis, 54.4% had documentation of one or more health conditions potentially worsening with cannabis use, and 36.6% had both types of health conditions.
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Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Duration Is Predictive of Life Expectancy
Total sleep duration declines with older age, as does the fraction of sleep spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The decline in REM is associated with increasing mortality, but it is unclear if this is a cause or a marker of declining health and declining brain function.
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Vitamin D and COVID-19
Low levels of vitamin D are associated with in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19, but causality is not yet known.