# The Changing Epidemiology of Lung Health: Opportunities for Research on Cannabis and HIV Disease (The ORCHID Study)

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2023 · $201,150

## Abstract

Project Summary / Abstract
Consumption of cannabis products is increasing in the United States. The prevalence of past month use
among adults has grown from 5.8% in 2007 to 11.5% in 2019. Causes of this increase include an evolving
regulatory environment, product innovations by the cannabis industry, and cultural trends towards greater
permissiveness. The effect of exposure to cannabis products on lung health are not fully understood, so the
public health impact of increased cannabis consumption cannot be fully appreciated. In a recent report, the
National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine highlighted the critical need for more research to
determine whether long term exposure to cannabis leads to chronic lung disease. The overall objective of this
proposal is to examine the effects of cannabis exposure on lung health. This proposal leverages a
longstanding, NHLBI-funded multi-center cohort of adults living with or at risk for HIV infection—the
MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study—in which the lifetime prevalence of cannabis exposure exceeds 70%.
The specific aims of the proposal are to: (1) measure the association of self-reported cumulative exposure to
cannabis with lung function in persons living with or without HIV; (2) measure the effect of biochemically-
verified cannabis exposure on the change in lung function in persons living with and without HIV; and (3) pilot a
novel instrument for measuring exposure to different cannabis products among persons living with and without
HIV. The objective and aims of this proposal are in line with the NHLBI’s Strategic Goal to “reduce human
disease” through “clinical investigations that advance the prediction, prevention, preemption, treatment, and
cures of human [lung] diseases.” In particular, this proposal is responsive to Compelling Question 2.CQ.03,
“What biomarkers of… environmental exposure are predictive of disease onset or progression?” and Critical
Challenge 3.CC.04, “Advances in methods and models for assessing and characterizing exposures are
needed to understand differences in health among populations.” The benefits of the proposed research are
expected to accrue broadly to the public health and welfare of current and future Americans. This K23 award
supports mentored career development for Richard Wang, MD MAS, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the
University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Wang’s long-term career goal is to become an independent
clinician investigator focused on improving the respiratory health of vulnerable populations, including persons
with HIV. His short-term goal is to better understand the risks to respiratory health posed by the rapidly
changing prevalence and practices of cannabis consumption among the American public. This K23 award
supports Dr. Wang to develop expertise in: statistical methods for causal inference from complex observational
data; the biochemical measurement of cannabis metabolites in biological samples; and the measurement of
canna...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10650755
- **Project number:** 5K23HL162593-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Richard Jin-yuan Wang
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $201,150
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10650755

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10650755, The Changing Epidemiology of Lung Health: Opportunities for Research on Cannabis and HIV Disease (The ORCHID Study) (5K23HL162593-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10650755. Licensed CC0.

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