McMahon Alexandra N, Varma Deepthi S, Fechtel Hannah, Sibille Kimberly, Li Zhigang, Cook Robert L, Wang Yan
Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida.
Department of Aging & Geriatric Research, University of Florida.
Cannabis. 2023 Jul 5;6(2):62-75. doi: 10.26828/cannabis/2023/000149. eCollection 2023.
Patient-reported outcomes are critical to evaluate the effectiveness of medical cannabis as an alternative treatment for chronic pain. This study examined the perceived effectiveness of medical cannabis for chronic pain management among middle-aged and older adults newly initiating medical cannabis.
Interview data from participants in a three-month pilot study were analyzed to assess the perceived effectiveness of medical cannabis on chronic pain and related outcomes. The interview was conducted after approximately one month of usage and responses were analyzed using the RADaR (Rigorous and Accelerated Data Reduction) technique.
51 adults initiating medical cannabis for chronic pain were interviewed (24 women, 27 men, mean age 54.4, SD = 12.0), with the majority (n=41) identifying as Non-Hispanic White followed by Non-Hispanic Black (n=7), Multi-racial (2), Hispanic White (1). Most study participants (62.7%) reported MC being overall effective. Common benefits included reduced pain intensity, anxiety, and dependency on pain and psychiatric medications. Improvements in physical functioning, sleep quality, and mood were reported. Common challenges included difficulty finding a suitable product or dose, experiencing side effects such as , and a limited treatable by the product.
Findings suggest most participants perceived medical cannabis to be overall effective for chronic pain management. Participants reported improved physical and mental functioning and reduced use of pain and psychiatric medications. Future research systematically assessing side effects, dosage and mode of consumption is needed to further evaluate the outcomes among adults initiating medical cannabis.
患者报告的结果对于评估医用大麻作为慢性疼痛替代治疗方法的有效性至关重要。本研究调查了刚开始使用医用大麻的中老年人对医用大麻用于慢性疼痛管理的感知有效性。
对一项为期三个月的试点研究参与者的访谈数据进行分析，以评估医用大麻对慢性疼痛及相关结果的感知有效性。访谈在使用约一个月后进行，使用RADaR（严格加速数据缩减）技术对回答进行分析。
对51名因慢性疼痛开始使用医用大麻的成年人进行了访谈（24名女性，27名男性，平均年龄54.4岁，标准差=12.0），大多数（n=41）为非西班牙裔白人，其次是非西班牙裔黑人（n=7）、多种族（2人）、西班牙裔白人（1人）。大多数研究参与者（62.7%）报告医用大麻总体有效。常见益处包括疼痛强度降低、焦虑减轻以及对止痛和精神药物的依赖性降低。报告了身体功能、睡眠质量和情绪方面的改善。常见挑战包括难以找到合适的产品或剂量、出现诸如……的副作用以及该产品可治疗的范围有限。
研究结果表明，大多数参与者认为医用大麻对慢性疼痛管理总体有效。参与者报告身体和心理功能有所改善，止痛和精神药物的使用减少。未来需要进行系统评估副作用、剂量和消费方式的研究，以进一步评估刚开始使用医用大麻的成年人的结果。
