Menopause. 2022 Sep 1;29(9):1028-1036. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000002018. Epub 2022 Aug 2.
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.
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.
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 ( P s ≤ 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).
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.
合法大麻的使用范围不断扩大，同时人们对医用大麻（MC）的使用兴趣也有所增加；然而，目前研究医用大麻缓解更年期相关症状的文献却很少。本调查研究评估了围绝经期和绝经后个体使用 MC 的模式。
参与者（围绝经期，n=131；绝经后，n=127）完成了与更年期相关的症状和大麻使用评估，包括使用方式、使用类型以及 MC 缓解的与更年期相关的症状。
大多数参与者报告当前使用大麻（86.1%），并表示使用 MC 缓解与更年期相关的症状（78.7%）。最常见的使用方式是吸烟（84.3%）和食用（78.3%），使用 MC 缓解的与更年期相关的最常见症状是睡眠障碍（67.4%）和情绪/焦虑（46.1%）。与绝经后参与者相比，围绝经期参与者在绝经特异性生活质量问卷的血管舒缩和心理社会子量表上报告了更严重的更年期相关症状（P 值≤0.04），包括更严重的焦虑负担（P=0.01）和热潮红（P=0.04）症状。此外，围绝经期参与者报告抑郁（P=0.03）和焦虑诊断（P＜0.01）的发生率更高，以及与绝经后参与者相比，更多地使用 MC 治疗与更年期相关的情绪/焦虑症状（P=0.01）。
结果表明，许多人目前将 MC 作为治疗更年期相关症状的辅助治疗方法，特别是睡眠障碍和情绪/焦虑。未来的研究应研究不同 MC 使用特征（例如，大麻素谱）对 MC 治疗与更年期相关症状的疗效的影响。围绝经期参与者的情绪和焦虑症状严重程度和发生率更高，表明大麻素为基础的治疗方法的临床试验有很好的应用前景。
