TY - JOUR
T1 - Cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation of cannabidiol (CBD) product use and health among people with epilepsy
AU - Strickland, Justin C.
AU - Jackson, Heather
AU - Schlienz, Nicolas J.
AU - Salpekar, Jay A.
AU - Martin, Erin L.
AU - Munson, Joel
AU - Bonn-Miller, Marcel O.
AU - Vandrey, Ryan
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the study participants and staff at Realm of Caring Foundation and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine that assisted with this project. RV has received financial compensation as a consultant or advisory board member from Canopy Growth Corporation, MyMD Pharmaceuticals, WebMD, and Syqe Medical Ltd. MBM is an employee of Canopy Growth Corporation and past non-executive director at AusCann Group Holdings Ltd. JAS has received research funding from Lundbeck (institution only), and receives royalties from Springer. Realm of Caring, a non-profit organization, worked collaboratively with Johns Hopkins University investigators on study conceptualization, advertising, data interpretation, and manuscript preparation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Recent approval of Epidiolex® (pharmaceutical cannabidiol/CBD) for the treatment of Lennox Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndrome highlights a therapeutic efficacy of CBD in the treatment of epilepsy. However, a large number of patients with epilepsy elect to use alternative artisanal CBD products due to cost or access constraints. Despite widespread availability and variety of these artisanal CBD products, studies evaluating their safety or efficacy are rare, making conclusions about clinical utility uncertain. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of artisanal CBD product use with quality of life, mental health, healthcare utilization, and epilepsy-specific outcomes within a large, observational cohort of people with epilepsy. Participants who reported using artisanal CBD products at baseline (Artisanal CBD Users; n = 280) and participants who used no cannabis-based products (Controls; n = 138) completed web-based assessments evaluating psychiatric symptoms, healthcare utilization, and epilepsy-specific factors. Follow-up surveys were collected in a subset of participants (n = 190) following baseline assessment for longitudinal comparison. Cross-sectionally, higher quality of life, lower psychiatric symptom severity, and improved sleep were observed among Artisanal CBD Users at baseline compared with Controls. Initiation of artisanal CBD product use was also related to improved health outcomes longitudinally. No group differences were observed for seizure control, but both groups included a high number of individuals with no past month seizures. Artisanal CBD Users reported significantly better epilepsy medication tolerability, use of fewer prescription medications overall, and reduced healthcare utilization compared with Controls. These findings are consistent with research indicating that practitioners recommending CBD in clinical care for epilepsy report integrating the use of CBD both as a means to improve patient quality of life as well as for seizure control.
AB - Recent approval of Epidiolex® (pharmaceutical cannabidiol/CBD) for the treatment of Lennox Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndrome highlights a therapeutic efficacy of CBD in the treatment of epilepsy. However, a large number of patients with epilepsy elect to use alternative artisanal CBD products due to cost or access constraints. Despite widespread availability and variety of these artisanal CBD products, studies evaluating their safety or efficacy are rare, making conclusions about clinical utility uncertain. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of artisanal CBD product use with quality of life, mental health, healthcare utilization, and epilepsy-specific outcomes within a large, observational cohort of people with epilepsy. Participants who reported using artisanal CBD products at baseline (Artisanal CBD Users; n = 280) and participants who used no cannabis-based products (Controls; n = 138) completed web-based assessments evaluating psychiatric symptoms, healthcare utilization, and epilepsy-specific factors. Follow-up surveys were collected in a subset of participants (n = 190) following baseline assessment for longitudinal comparison. Cross-sectionally, higher quality of life, lower psychiatric symptom severity, and improved sleep were observed among Artisanal CBD Users at baseline compared with Controls. Initiation of artisanal CBD product use was also related to improved health outcomes longitudinally. No group differences were observed for seizure control, but both groups included a high number of individuals with no past month seizures. Artisanal CBD Users reported significantly better epilepsy medication tolerability, use of fewer prescription medications overall, and reduced healthcare utilization compared with Controls. These findings are consistent with research indicating that practitioners recommending CBD in clinical care for epilepsy report integrating the use of CBD both as a means to improve patient quality of life as well as for seizure control.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Cannabinoid
KW - Cannabis
KW - Caregiver
KW - Depression
KW - Mental health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111041384&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85111041384&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108205
DO - 10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108205
M3 - Article
C2 - 34311183
AN - SCOPUS:85111041384
SN - 1525-5050
VL - 122
JO - Epilepsy and Behavior
JF - Epilepsy and Behavior
M1 - 108205
ER -