Characterizing anxiety, pain, sleep, and quality of life among patients in a state Medical Marijuana Program.
Publication/Presentation Date
8-1-2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cannabis is increasingly used for symptom management, but its effects on health-related quality of life (QoL) have been inconclusive.
OBJECTIVES: The goal of the present study was to characterize self-reported symptoms and QoL among patients certified to use medical cannabis.
METHODS: These data are from the baseline assessment of a 12-month longitudinal study. The survey assessed certifying conditions, current medications, symptoms and symptom severity. QoL was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative Care (FACIT-Pal) which includes Physical Well-Being (PWB), Social/Family Well-Being (SWB), Emotional Well-Being (EWB), Functional Well-Being (FWB), and the Palliative Care subscale. Higher scores indicated better QoL.
RESULTS: Overall, 210 patients (114 female, 92 male, 3 non-binary, 1 refused) completed the survey. The most common certifying conditions were pain (48.6%), anxiety (36.7%), and PTSD (15.7%) and the most common symptoms were anxiety (65.2%), pain (56.7%), sleep disturbance (38.6%), and depression (31.4%). Compared to normative data, this sample reported lower QoL, specifically EWB and SWB scores (i.e., T-Scores< 45). Opioid/benzodiazepine/sedative-hypnotic use was associated with lower QoL on all subscales (except SWB and FWB) (ps < 0.05). Greater number of self-reported symptoms and medical conditions were associated with lower QoL (ps < 0.01).
CONCLUSION: Despite mixed evidence regarding cannabis' efficacy for anxiety, 36.7% of the current sample were certified by a physician for anxiety. Lower QoL was associated with more self-reported comorbid medical conditions, higher total symptom count, and reported use of an opioid and/or benzodiazepine. Future longitudinal data will provide critical information regarding the trajectory of these symptoms and QoL.
Volume
48
First Page
101612
Last Page
101612
ISSN
1873-6947
Published In/Presented At
Ashare, R. L., Kelly, E., Hajjar, E. R., Pant, S., Meghani, S. H., & Worster, B. (2022). Characterizing anxiety, pain, sleep, and quality of life among patients in a state Medical Marijuana Program. Complementary therapies in clinical practice, 48, 101612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101612
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
35667225
Department(s)
Hematology-Medical Oncology Division
Document Type
Article