Boston, MA: Women diagnosed with either Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis report symptom improvements following the ingestion of CBD products, according to survey data published in the journal Medicina.
Investigators affiliated with Simmons University in Boston surveyed 25 women who consumed CBD to mitigate IBD symptoms. Most participants obtained CBD products from state-licensed dispensaries. Participants typically consumed oral doses of 25 mg or less of CBD daily.
Researchers reported, “CBD users reported decreases in IBD-related pain and nausea (76 percent and 64 percent, respectively), and improvement in appetite (60 percent).”
The study’s authors concluded: “This study … suggest[s] that CBD could lead to improvements in IBD-related pain and nausea, increased appetite, and overall increased quality of life in this understudied and vulnerable cohort. … Additional investigations that include larger sample sizes, more variation among disease severity, and an interventional study design could further elucidate the results currently indicated.”
IBD patients enrolled in the United Kingdom’s Medical Cannabis Registry report sustained improvements in their health-related quality of life following their use of medicinal cannabis products, according to data published earlier this year in the journal Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
Prior survey data reports that an estimated one-half of IBD patients have tried cannabis, and that nearly one-third of current consumers use it to mitigate disease symptoms.
Full text of the study, “The perceived effectiveness of cannabidiol on adult women with inflammatory bowel disease,” appears in Medicina. Additional information on cannabis and IBD is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.