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A meta-analysis and systematic review was conducted to explore the medical use of cannabis in patients suffering from rheumatic diseases.
Despite treatment with analgesics or disease-modifying
antirheumatic drugs, patients suffering from rheumatic disorders remain in pain and often turn to non-prescribed
pharmacological substitutes such as consumption of cannabis. Consuming cannabis was found to be
associated with pain improvement.
A meta-analysis and systematic review was conducted to
explore the medical use of cannabis in patients suffering from rheumatic
diseases.
The EMBASE, Cochrane library, and
PubMed databases were extensively explored to find the relevant articles. The
incidence of cannabis intake was estimated by metaproportion. Utilizing the
inverse-variance method, the differences between users and non-users of
cannabis were expressed as standardized mean differences. The effects of
cannabis on pain in patients suffering from rheumatologic diseases were also
investigated.
Notable in a sample size of 10, 873 participants, about 2900 subjects were found to consume cannabis [incidence 40.4%], and 15.3% of subjects specified that they were currently taking cannabis. Cannabis usage was found to be raised in the four fibromyalgia studies [68.2%, n=611] compared with seven articles concerning rheumatoid arthritis or lupus [26 %, n= 8168].
Cannabis intake was linked with a decline in pain intensity
[visual analog scale pain at baseline 8.2 (2.9) vs 5.6 (3.5)mm over time].
Cannabis users were younger [58.4 ±11.4 vs 63.6 ± 12.1)years], more often
smokers [Odds ratio, OR 2.91] or unemployed [OR 2.40], and had elevated pain
intensity [5.0 ± 2.4 vs 4.1±2.6 mm] compared to non-users.
Approximately 20% of patients
having rheumatologic diseases actively consume cannabis, with alleviation in
pain. The issue of cannabis usage in managing such individuals should be
discussed during a medical consultation, specifically with cannabis-based
standardized pharmaceutical products.
Rheumatology
Cannabis use assessment and its impact on pain in rheumatologic diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis
M Guillouard et al.
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