Real-world data highlight patterns of cannabis use in IBD
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Using real-world data, researchers identified patterns of use of medically dispensed cannabis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, according to a poster presented at the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting.
“We know that cannabis use in IBD patients is common and that many report improvement in IBD-related symptoms, including mitigation of pain,” Jami A.R. Kinnucan, MDFACG, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Michigan, said during a virtual presentation. “However, patterns of cannabis use, including dose and route of administration, have not been described in the IBD population. We described the first real-world data obtained from IBD patients who received cannabis from a single medical dispensary program.”
In a retrospective data review, Kinnucan and colleagues evaluated data from 592 patients with IBD (47.3% women; mean age, 43.3 years) who were dispensed medical cannabis from Columbia Care in New York City from January 2016 to March 2020. The data analyzed included age, gender, date of first dispensary visit, number and duration of dispensary visits, whether prescription pain medication was dispensed and reduced between visits, cannabis type used, daily prescribed dosage of THC and/or CBD and route of administration.
Results showed an increase in total cannabinoid exposure from first to last visit in all patients, including an increase in THC exposure from 9.2 mg per day to 19.5 mg per day and an increase in CBD exposure from 7.4 mg per day to 9.3 mg per day, along with a significant reduction in the use of pain medication. Vaping and tincture were the most common routes of administration reported.
“Daily cannabinoid doses were lower than prior published randomized trials in IBD patients, although there was an increase in daily cannabinoid dose over the study period,” the researchers wrote.
The researchers also observed differences in cannabis use by gender across the cohort. Female cannabis users were older, more likely to have a co-diagnosis of cancer and chronic pain, more likely to have pain medication use at first visit, fewer follow-up dispensary visits, less cannabinoid use and a larger increase in cannabinoid dose prescribed from first to last visit, as compared with male cannabis users, according to the data.
“Overall future studies are needed to assess the impact of cannabis type, route, as well as dosage on clinical efficacy, adverse events, mental health and quality of life,” Kinnucan said.
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Kinnucan J. Real world dispensary data for IBD patients using medical cannabis. Presented at: ACG Annual Scientific Meeting; Oct. 22-27, 2021; Las Vegas (hybrid meeting).
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