Medicinal cannabis linked to long -term benefits in health -related quality of life

Patients prescribed medicinal cannabis in Australia maintained improvements in the overall health-related quality of life (HRQL), fatigue and sleep disorders for a period of one year, according to a study published in the Open-Access Journal Plos One By Margaret-Ann Tait from the University of Sydney, Australia and colleagues.

Anxiety, depression, insomnia and pain also improved over time for people with corresponding health problems.

Research into the therapeutic benefits of medicinal cannabis has increased since the discovery of the analgesic properties in cannabis plant connections.

In 2016, interest groups lobbying to the Australian government to make changes to legislation with which patients who did not respond to conventional treatment to gain access to medicinal cannabis with a recipe from clinics. More than a million new patients in Australia have received medicinal cannabis recipes for more than 200 health problems.

A multicenter prospective study called the Quest Initiative (Quality of Life Evaluation Study) recruited adult patients with a chronic health condition that newly prescribed medicinal cannabis oil between November 2020 and December 2021.

Tait and colleagues collected 12 -month follow -up data to determine whether previously reported improvements would be maintained after three months in the long term. Of 2744 participants who completed the basic assessments, 2353 also completed at least one follow-up questionnaire and were included in analyzes, whereby the completion rates fell to 778/2353 (38%) after 12 months.

Participants with disorders diagnosed by Clinicus filled in questionnaires about fitness -specific symptoms, and HRQL, which comprises physical, emotional, social and cognitive function, as well as physical discomfort.

The researchers discovered that short -term improvements in the total HRQL were reported after three months were maintained for a period of 12 months of medicinal cannabis prescribed in Australia. People with chronic health problems reported improvements in fatigue, pain and sleep.

Patients with anxiety, depression, insomnia or chronic pain diagnoses also showed improvements in fitness -specific symptoms for 12 months. Patients treated for generalized anxiety, chronic pain, insomnia and PTSD all showed improvements in HRQL.

Participants with movement disorders had improved HRQL, but no significant improvements in the upper extremity function scores.

The study was large enough to assess patients in a wide range of chronic disorders and social demography in a real-world setting. Without a control group, however, it was not possible to attribute changes to medicinal cannabis with confidence in the course of time.

Despite this limitation, the results suggest that prescribing medicinal cannabis to patients with chronic health problems can improve pain, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety and depression and overall HRQL.

The findings also suggest that any improvements would be visible quickly and would be maintained in the long term. According to the authors, the results of this study contribute to the emerging base to inform decision -making both in clinical practice and policy level.

The authors add: “This is promising news for patients who do not respond to conventional medicines for these disorders.”