P559 Cannabis Improves Sleep Quality in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases in a Prospective Observational Study
Hirsch, A.(1);Seidenberg, C.(2);Fliss Isakov, N.(1);Meiri, D.(3);Maharshak, N.(1);
(1)Tel Aviv Medical Center, Department of Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Tel Aviv, Israel;(2)Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Pharmacology, Jerusalem, Israel;(3)Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, The Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Cannabinoid Research, Haifa, Israel;
Background
Poor sleep is associated with adverse health consequences and was shown to be associated with subclinically active inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).
Altered sleep patterns in IBD patients were associated with frequent disease flares and lower quality of life.
The aim of this study was to assess the effect of cannabis use on sleep quality in IBD patients.
Methods
We conducted a prospective observational cohort study enrolling 160 IBD patients who were prescribed medical cannabis.
Patients who changed medication during the trial, reported use of cannabis 3 months before the trial, or failed to follow up were excluded from the analysis.
Patients filled questionnaires at baseline and after 3 and 6 months of therapy. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
Results
A total of 91 patients were included, of these 62.6(57%) were males and 74(81.3%) were diagnosed with Crohn’s disease (CD).
Their median age was 36.71 years (range 20.1-73.2) and their median disease duration was 9 years (range 0.5-55.1).
The median cannabis dose prescribed was 20 grams (range 10-40).
Patients reported an improved sleep quality with decreased mean PSQI score after 3 months (7.1±3.85 vs 7.8±3.9, p=0.004) and further improvement after 6 months (6.9±3.7 vs 7.8±3.9, p=0.006) of cannabis therapy, compared to baseline.
Cannabis therapy was safe with no severe adverse or side effects.
Conclusion
Cannabis use is an effective and safe intervention to improve sleep quality in IBD patients.
The impact of cannabis on the disease activity and its association with sleep improvement in these patients should be further explored.