Canna~Fangled Abstracts

A survey of medical cannabis use during perimenopause and postmenopause

By August 2, 2022No Comments

. 2022 Aug 2.

doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000002018.

Online ahead of print.
M Kathryn Dahlgren, Celine El-Abboud, Ashley M Lambros, Kelly A Sagar, Rosemary T Smith, Staci A Gruber

Abstract

Objective: Expanding access to legal cannabis has dovetailed with increased interest in medical cannabis (MC) use; however, there is a paucity of research examining MC use to alleviate menopause-related symptoms. This survey study assessed patterns of MC use in perimenopausal and postmenopausal individuals.

Methods: Participants (perimenopausal, n = 131; postmenopausal, n = 127) completed assessments of menopause-related symptomatology and cannabis use, including modes of use, type of use, and menopause-related symptoms addressed by MC use.

Results: Most participants reported current cannabis use (86.1%) and endorsed using MC for menopause-related symptoms (78.7%). The most common modes of use were smoking (84.3%) and edibles (78.3%), and the top menopause-related symptoms for MC use were sleep disturbance (67.4%) and mood/anxiety (46.1%). Relative to postmenopausal participants, perimenopausal participants reported significantly worse menopause-related symptomatology on the vasomotor and psychosocial subscales of the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (Ps ≤ 0.04), including greater burden of anxiety (P = 0.01) and hot flash (P = 0.04) symptoms. In addition, perimenopausal participants reported higher incidence of depression (P = 0.03) and anxiety diagnoses (P < 0.01), as well as increased use of MC to treat menopause-related mood/anxiety symptoms relative to postmenopausal participants (P = 0.01).

Conclusions: Results suggest that many individuals are currently using MC as an adjunctive treatment for menopause-related symptoms, particularly sleep disturbance and mood/anxiety. Future research should examine the impact of different MC use characteristics (e.g., cannabinoid profiles) on the efficacy of MC use for menopause-related symptoms. Increased severity and prevalence of mood and anxiety symptoms in perimenopausal participants suggest promising targets for clinical trials of cannabinoid-based therapies.

Conflict of interest statement

Financial disclosures/conflicts of interest: S.A.G. reported grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Foria/Praxis Ventures, and Charlotte’s Web outside the submitted work. S.A.G. also reported personal fees from the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation; Beth Israel Deaconess; Fenway Health; Greenwich Biosciences Cannabis Education Working Group; and National Academy of Neuropsychology outside the submitted work. M.K.D. reported receiving the McLean Hospital Jonathan Edward Brooking Mental Health Research Fellowship outside the submitted work. K.A.S. received the McLean Hospital Eleanor and Miles Shore Fellowship and the Charles Robert Broderick III Phytocannabinoid Research Fellowship, and reported personal fees from the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation outside the submitted work. All authors report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. No other disclosures were reported.

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