Study Summary: Cannabis for Menopause

Welcome to Higher Learning LV's Study Summary series. This series reviews and summarizes peer-reviewed research studies and was developed specifically for cannabis industry professionals. These study summaries provide easily digested quick reads for a variety of important issues regarding the commerce and chemistry of legal cannabis.

A 2022 peer-reviewed research study entitled "A Survey of Medical Cannabis use During Perimenopause & Postmenopause" that was published in the journal Menopause investigated the potential efficacy of cannabis for menopause.

The Study

The study noted a "a paucity of research examining medical cannabis use to alleviate menopause-related symptoms." The research involved 258 participants, 131 of whom were perimenopausal and 127 that were postmenopausal. The study considered modes of cannabis use, type of use, and "menopause-related symptoms addressed by medical cannabis use."

Nearly ninety percent of the study participants reported consuming cannabis at the time of the study and 79 percent "endorsed using medical cannabis for menopause-related symptoms."

Nearly ninety percent of the study participants reported consuming cannabis at the time of the study and 79 percent "endorsed using medical cannabis for menopause-related symptoms."

Results

The most common cannabis consumption avenues among the study participants were smoking (84 percent) and ingestion (edibles; 78 percent). The most common menopause-related symptom treated was sleep disturbance (67 percent) and "mood/anxiety" (46 percent).

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"Relative to postmenopausal participants, perimenopausal participants reported significantly worse menopause-related symptomatology," wrote the study’s authors. They noted that perimenopausal subjects were characterized by a "greater burden of anxiety and hot flash symptoms."

Perimenopausal subjects also reported a "higher incidence of depression and anxiety disgnoses." The study noted that perimenopausal subjects featured increase consumption of medical cannabis to combat their symptoms.

Perimenopausal subjects also reported a "higher incidence of depression and anxiety disgnoses." The study noted that perimenopausal subjects featured increase consumption of medical cannabis to combat their symptoms.

According to the Mayo Clinic, perimenopause "means 'around menopause' and refers to the time during which [a woman's] body makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years. Perimenopause is also called the menopausal transition."

Conclusions

The study's authors summarized that their data collection results "suggest that many individuals are currently using medical cannabis as an adjunctive treatment for menopause-related symptoms" and that the primary symptoms treated were sleep disturbances and issues related to mood and anxiety.

"Future research should examine the impact of different medical cannabis use characteristics (e.g., cannabinoid profiles) on the efficacy of medical cannabis use for menopause-related symptoms," concluded the scientists. They noted that the "increased severity and prevalence of mood and anxiety symptoms in perimenopausal participants" suggests that perimenopausal people are "promising targets for clinical trials of cannabinoid-based therapies."

View the original study.

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