Cannabis use corresponds with improved anxiety, sleep quality, and quality of life for ADHD patients

This study examined the effect of cannabis-based medicinal products on key measures of health-related quality of life in patients diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It was published in December 2023 in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology Reports.

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important factor that perhaps is not considered enough when evaluating medical treatments. In this study, case-series data was collected from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry.

68 participants with a primary condition of ADHD who were treated with cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) completed questionnaires about patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) 5 times over 12 months: at baseline and after 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. Data was collected from the private Sapphire Medical Clinics between 2019 and January 2023.

Thr primary metrics used were the GAD-7 for anxiety, SQS for sleep quality, and EQ-5D-5L for overall quality of life impact from their diagnosed health condition. They also used the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) to assess patients' belief about the efficacy of cannabinoid medical treatment.

Most of the participants were male (81%) and the average age was 36. 81% of the participants were current users of cannabis at the start of the study.

     

    Patients had several treatment options:

    • sublingual medium‐chain triglyceride‐based oil preparations (6%)
    • inhaled dried flowers (56%)
    • a combination of both (38%)

     

    The average daily doses:

    • Sublingual Oils: 17.5mg CBD + 5mg THC
    • Dried Flower: 10mg CBD + 215mg THC
    • Oils and Dried Flower: 30mg CBD + 211mg THC

     

    Results:

    There were improvements in anxiety severity and sleep quality, as assessed by the GAD‐7 and SQS, respectively, between baseline scores and across all follow‐up time periods at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months (p < 0.001)

    There were improvements in the general health‐related quality of life, as assessed by the EQ‐5D‐5L Index Value, at 1, 3, and 6 months compared to baseline (p < 0.050). However, there was no change at 12 months.

    The most common adverse events reported were insomnia (n = 5, 7.35%), concentration impairment (n = 5, 7.35%), somnolence (n = 5, 7.35%), lethargy (n = 5, 7.35%), and dry mouth (n = 5, 7.35%).

     

    The authors concluded:

    These results suggest that CBMPs may play a role in alleviating symptoms and co‐morbid anxiety and sleep disruption associated with ADHD, though these are preliminary findings. 

    CBMPs were well‐tolerated throughout this study and the majority of patients (83.82%) did not report any adverse events

    Due to limitations in study design [case series], a causal relationship cannot be determined, thus, a definite conclusion cannot be drawn from these results


    The full text article is here at PubMed Central.

     

    Source:

    Ittiphakorn P, Erridge S, Holvey C, Coomber R, Rucker JJ, Sodergren MH. UK Medical Cannabis Registry: An analysis of clinical outcomes of medicinal cannabis therapy for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Neuropsychopharmacol Rep. 2023 Dec;43(4):596-606. doi: 10.1002/npr2.12400. Epub 2023 Dec 6. PMID: 38058251; PMCID: PMC10739081.

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