Women Beginning to Use Marijuana to Treat Menopause Symptoms

Highlights:

• Hormonal changes associated with menopause can result in uncomfortable symptoms such hot flashes, sleep disturbances, sadness and anxiety.
• Some women are turning to non-hormone therapeutic alternatives such as medical cannabis for the treatment of menopausal symptoms.
• The majority of users are perimenopausal women, who report substantially severe depression and other menopause symptoms.

Perimenopausal women are using medicinal cannabis to address menopause symptoms such as sleep disruption and mood/anxiety disorders, suggested a recent study. With the legalization of medicinal marijuana, it is used for the treatment of more and more conditions. According to recent research, women are using medicinal cannabis more frequently to treat the symptoms of menopause. Majority users are perimenopausal women, who report much worse menopause symptoms, especially depression. The study has been released online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

Hot flashes, sleep disruption, depression and anxiety are some annoying symptoms brought on by menopause-related hormonal changes. Though hormone therapy has shown to be beneficial in treating these symptoms, not many women are able or willing to opt for it. As a result they resort to other non-hormone therapeutic alternatives.

Medical cannabis has been linked to several clinical advantages, including a reduction in anxiety, mood, sleep, pain measurements and improvements in cognitive function after treatment, according to previous observational studies. However, no research has yet looked at the security and effectiveness of using medicinal cannabis to treat menopause-related symptoms.

Researchers wanted to evaluate cannabis use, including modes of use. They also wanted to compare usage patterns between perimenopausal and postmenopausal women in this study. The study involved more than 250 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. The study participants were recruited through advertising, targeted to women interested in women's health and cannabis or cannabinoids. The results showed that many women (86%) presently use cannabis as an additional treatment for symptoms of menopause in a variety of ways, with smoking (84.3%) and edibles being the most popular (78.3%). Menopause-related sleep difficulties and mood/anxiety disorders were the most cited reasons for using medicinal cannabis.

Perimenopausal women reported more menopause-related symptoms, such as increased anxiety and hot flashes, than postmenopausal women. Additionally, perimenopausal women were more likely to report anxiety and depression and higher cannabis usage for medicinal purposes. However, more study is required to validate the efficiency of cannabis for the treatment of different menopausal symptoms.

Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director of NAMS, said, “This study implies that midlife women suffering symptoms of menopause may often utilize medicinal cannabis. More study is necessary before recommending medicinal cannabis as a therapy for menopausal symptoms in clinical settings due to the lack of clinical trial evidence on the effectiveness and safety of the drug. Healthcare practitioners should inquire about their patients’ usage of medical cannabis for menopausal symptoms and offer evidence-based suggestions for symptom management.”

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Source-Eurekalert