More positive research on cannabis for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

This study focused on short-term (1-3 months) health-related quality of life (HRQoL) changes and adverse effects of cannabinoid medicine in patients diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). It was published in the journal Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology in December 2022.

As a clinical case series, this study included 76 patients from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. 56 were diagnosed with Crohn' disease and 25 were diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

The following measures were tracked at one and three months:

• Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ)
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)
• Single-Item Sleep Quality Scale (SQS)
• EQ-5D-5L Index score (QoL measures: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression)

Patients had an average age of 34 years and 83% were male. They used dried cannabis flower or concentrated cannabis oil. Dried flower was consumed by vaping while oils were consumed either orally or sublingually. 68% were active cannabis users before the study began, and most of these patients were daily users. Only 14% had never used cannabis.

Most patients were prescribed both THC and CBD. Those who were prescribed oil had a median dosage of 10mg THC and 20mg CBD per day. Those who were prescribed flower had a median dosage of 186mg THC and 5mg CBD.

Study conclusions in the authors' words:

Patients treated with CBMPs [cannabis-based medicinal products] for refractory symptoms of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis demonstrated a short-term improvement in IBD-specific and general HRQoL.

The median baseline SIBDQ score improved at 1 and 3 months.

EQ-5D-5L index values, GAD-7, and SQS also improved after 3 months 

Prior cannabis consumers reported greater improvement compared to cannabis-naïve individuals.

The full text article is here at Taylor & Francis Online.