A study entitled "Comparing the Effects of Medical Cannabis for Chronic Pain Patients With and Without Comorbid Anxiety: A Cohort Study" that was published in the journal Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics explored the potential of cannabis to deliver relief to chronic pain patients. For clarity, the researchers studied both chronic pain patients who suffer from anxiety and those who did not.
"As this is the first study assessing the effects of cannabis-based medicinal products in patients with comorbid anxiety, hopefully, it will act to guide further assessments," reported the scientists.
"There is growing evidence on the efficacy of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) for chronic pain (CP). Due to the interaction between CP and anxiety, and the potential impact of CBMPs on both anxiety and CP, this article aimed to compare the outcomes of CP patients with and without comorbid anxiety following CBMP treatment," wrote the scientists.
This study involved 1,254 study participants, all of whom were chronic pain patients and some of whom suffered anxiety. Of these, 711 subjects had anxiety and 543 did not. The study noted "significant improvements in all primary outcomes" in the anxiety group, which featured the greatest improvements of all subjects. However, these benefits were limited to anxiety symptoms. "there were no consistent differences in pain outcomes between the two groups."
Of those participants suffering anxiety, 26 percent (322 subjects) had mild anxiety, 16 percent (201 subjects) featured moderate anxiety, and 15 percent (188) had severe anxiety. The mean age of the no-anxiety group was 47, while the anxiety cohort featured an almost identical mean age of 45. Interestingly, most of the no-anxiety group was employed, while the majority of the anxiety cohort was unemployed. The most common indication in both of the groups was "chronic non-cancer pain."
As is common in studies of this type, some participants experienced mild adverse events. Ninety-one of the no-anxiety participants (17 percent) and 138 (20 percent) of the anxiety cohort reported at least one adverse event. The most common negative reaction among participants was fatigue and somnolence (sleepiness) in the no-anxiety group and fatigue and dry mouth in the anxiety cohort. The study revealed that adverse events were more common among the anxiety group.
The study concluded that there is a "potential association" between the use of cannabis-based medicinal products and improvements in both pain and health-related quality of life in anxiety and pain patients.
The researchers also observed a reduction in opioid consumption and stated that the CBMP treatments featured an "acceptable adverse events profile in both cohorts," supporting and strengthening the conclusions of prior studies. The study noted its limitations and that its results should be interpreted "with caution." The study's authors called for additional research "to determine that the changes observed [here] were not secondary to confounding factors beyond the control of the study design."
"A potential association between initiation of CBMPs and improvements in pain and HRQoL, as well as reductions in opioid consumption and an acceptable AE profile in both cohorts was found, complimenting previous UKMCR studies. Moreover, CP patients with co-morbid anxiety may achieve better HRQoL outcomes and potentially pain outcomes due to CBMPs’ peripheral and central effects.
"Due to the pertinent limitations of this study, namely its observational nature, its results should be interpreted cautiously. More research is ultimately required to determine that the changes observed were not secondary to confounding factors beyond the control of the study design. As this is the first study assessing the effects of CBMPs in patients with co-morbid anxiety, hopefully, it will act to guide further assessment within RCTs."
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