In a retrospective study of more than 7000 adults, cannabis use enhanced depression and anxiousness at 12 and 18 months in adults diagnosed with these circumstances. The Canadian researchers who carried out the study published their findings in Psychiatry Research.
Compared with its use for chronic discomfort, the researchers stated that trustworthy proof to assistance the use of cannabis to treat anxiousness is lacking and accessible information are “conflicting.” To bring clarity to the challenge, the researchers carried out a retrospective database study of Canadian healthcare cannabis patients. Patients received their cannabis from Harvest Medicine clinic, a network of specialty healthcare cannabis clinics across Canada.
Of the 7362 patients, 43.9% reported anxiousness as the cause for utilizing cannabis and 25.9% reported depression. The typical age of the sample was 49.8. The group was relatively evenly divided among guys (46.9) and ladies (53.1%).
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The imply General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) score for patients with anxiousness was 11.1 compared with 5.3 without the need of anxiousness. The scores for patients with anxiousness went down more than time with the most notable decreases taking spot among 1 and 3 months following therapy and 2 years later.
Patients with depression reported a imply Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score of 13.7 compared with 7.4 for these without the need of depression. The most notable drop for patients with depression took spot inside the initial 3 months of therapy.
The researchers also reported that guys with the highest scores at baseline showed the most considerable improvement more than time.
While the researchers had a substantial sample size to work with, they noted that some of the demographic information was missing and they didn’t have information and facts on prescription medicines, psychiatric therapy, or any diagnostic information and facts other than the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores.
The researchers conclude, on the other hand, that this genuine-globe information evaluation delivers proof of the effectiveness of cannabis on depression and anxiousness. They conclude, “this study offers reasonable justification for the completion of large clinical trials to further the understanding of medical cannabis as a treatment for anxiety and depression.”
Disclosure: Some study authors declared affiliations with Harvest Medicine. Please see the original reference for a complete list of authors’ disclosures.
Reference
Sachedina F, Chan C, Damji RS, de Sanctis OJ. Medical cannabis use in Canada and its impact on anxiety and depression: a retrospective study. Psychiatry Res. Published on the web April 25, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114573
