Assessment of Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Osteoarthritis: Analysis From the UK Medical Cannabis Registry

Figures & data

Figure 1. A flow diagram displaying the inclusion and exclusion of patients.

Table 1. Demographic details of patients at baseline assessment.

Demographic details	n (%) or mean (±SD)
Gender
Male	37 (48.05)
Female	40 (51.95)
Age (years)	60.04 ± 14.27
Body mass index (kg/m^2)	30.18 ± 6.22
Occupation
Clerical support workers	0 (0)
Craft and related trades workers	1 (1.30)
Elementary occupations	5 (6.49)
Managers	4 (5.19)
Plant and machine operators and assemblers	0 (0)
Professional	7 (9.09)
Service and sales workers	0 (0)
Technicians and associate professionals	1 (1.30)
Other occupations	11 (14.29)
Unemployed	45 (58.44)

Table 2. Tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis status of study participants.

		n (%) or median (IQR)
Tobacco status	Current smoker	20 (25.97)
	Pack-years	17.50 (10.50–32.50)
	Ex-smoker	42 (54.55)
	Pack-years	16.00 (9.25–25.50)
	Nonsmoker	15 (19.48)
Weekly alcohol consumption (units)		0.00 (0.00–5.50)
Cannabis status	Current user	39 (50.65)
	Current quantity of cannabis consumption (g/day)	1.00 (0.50–2.00)
	Lifetime quantity of cannabis consumption (gram-years)	17.00 (6.00–35.00)
	Ex-user	9 (11.69)
	Lifetime quantity of cannabis consumption (gram-years)	4.00 (1.50–12.50)
	Non-user	29 (37.66)
Frequency of cannabis use for current users	Every day	34 (87.18)
	Every other day	2 (5.13)
	Once or twice per week	2 (5.13)
	Less than once per month	1 (2.56)

Table 3. Details of CBMPs prescribed for study participants (n = 159).

CBMP dosing	n (%) or median (IQR)
Cannabinoid contents
Number of patients prescribed CBD alone	3 (3.90)
Number of patients prescribed THC alone	1 (1.30)
Number of patients prescribed both CBD and THC	73 (94.81)
Administration route
Number of patients using sublingual/oral formulations only	33 (42.86)
Number of patients using vaporized flower only	9 (11.69)
Number of patients using both sublingual/oral formulations and vaporized flower	35 (45.45)
Dosage
CBD dosage (mg/day)	25.50 (20.00–47.50)
THC dosage (mg/day)	105.00 (10.00–220.00)

Figure 2. Paired baseline and follow-up scores for BPI and McGill Pain Questionnaire for patients with osteoarthritis at 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. Scores presented as mean ± SD. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

Table 4. Paired baseline and follow-up scores for HRQoL PROMs for patients with osteoarthritis at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.

PROMs		Follow-up
		Baseline	1 month	3 months	6 months	12 months
GAD-7	Score	6.12 ± 0.66	4.55 ± 0.60	4.97 ± 0.62	5.40 ± 0.62	5.65 ± 0.61
	p	—	0.028	0.038	0.952	1.00
SQS	Score	3.80 ± 0.29	5.30 ± 0.30	4.88 ± 0.31	5.04 ± 0.33	4.47 ± 0.31
	p	—	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	0.078
EQ-5D-5L mobility	Score	3.14 ± 0.12	3.00 ± 0.11	3.01 ± 0.12	2.94 ± 0.12	3.03 ± 0.12
	p	—	1.00	1.00	0.126	0.601
EQ-5D-5L self-care	Score	2.18 ± 0.11	2.26 ± 0.11	2.18 ± 0.12	2.18 ± 0.12	2.20 ± 0.11
	p	—	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00
EQ-5D-5L usual activities	Score	3.17 ± 0.13	2.84 ± 0.11	2.95 ± 0.12	2.96 ± 0.12	3.12 ± 0.12
	p	—	0.037	0.648	0.588	1.00
EQ-5D-5L pain and discomfort	Score	3.69 ± 0.09	3.25 ± 0.10	3.23 ± 0.11	3.21 ± 0.11	3.36 ± 0.11
	p	—	0.001	<0.001	<0.001	0.002
EQ-5D-5L anxiety and depression	Score	2.20 ± 0.13	1.92 ± 0.13	1.99 ± 0.12	2.10 ± 0.12	2.14 ± 0.13
	p	—	0.040	0.380	1.00	1.00
EQ-5D-5L index value	Score	0.35 ± 0.03	0.44 ± 0.03	0.43 ± 0.03	0.42 ± 0.03	0.39 ± 0.03
	p	—	0.006	0.006	0.026	0.189

Scores presented as mean ± SD.

Figure 3. Adverse event frequency separated by severity for study participants from baseline to 12 months. The total number of adverse events is also displayed.

Paired baseline and follow-up scores for pain-related PROMs in patients with osteoarthritis at 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up.

PROMs		Follow-up
		Baseline	1 month	3 months	6 months	12 months
BPI Pain Severity	Score	6.32 ± 0.20	5.52 ± 0.23	5.42 ± 0.22	5.45 ± 0.24	5.79 ± 0.21
	p	—	0.001	<0.001	<0.001	0.004
BPI Pain Interference	Score	6.92 ± 0.24	5.71 ± 0.28	5.73 ± 0.27	5.69 ± 0.30	6.20 ± 0.28
	p	—	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	0.005
McGill	Score	4.53 ± 0.23	3.86 ± 0.24	3.86 ± 0.25	3.75 ± 0.24	4.13 ± 0.24
	p	—	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	0.017

Scores presented as mean ± SD.

Frequency of AEs, separated by severity.

AEs	Severity of AE
	Mild	Moderate	Severe	Total (%)
Abdominal pain	1	1	2	4 (1.83)
Agitation	0	0	1	1 (0.46)
Amnesia	1	0	0	1 (0.46)
Anorexia	0	0	0	0 (0)
Anxiety	0	0	1	1 (0.46)
Ataxia	3	3	0	6 (2.75)
Bloating	0	0	0	0 (0)
Blurred vision	5	0	2	7 (3.21)
Chest pain cardiac	0	0	0	0 (0)
Cognitive disturbance	1	5	1	7 (3.21)
Concentration impairment	3	8	0	11 (5.05)
Confusion	4	1	0	5 (2.29)
Constipation	7	6	0	13 (5.96)
Cough	0	0	0	0 (0)
Delirium	0	0	0	0 (0)
Depression	0	1	0	1 (0.46)
Diarrhea	0	1	0	1 (0.46)
Dizziness	2	8	0	10 (4.59)
Dry mouth	10	1	0	11 (5.06)
Dysgeusia	1	0	0	1 (0.46)
Dyspepsia	7	1	1	9 (4.13)
Fall	4	0	0	4 (1.83)
Fatigue	3	7	7	17 (7.80)
Fever	0	0	2	2 (0.92)
Flu-like symptoms	0	0	1	1 (0.46)
Generalized muscle weakness	2	4	4	10 (4.59)
Headache	3	2	5	10 (4.59)
Increased appetite	0	0	0	0 (0)
Insomnia	1	8	5	14 (6.42)
Lethargy	3	11	0	14 (6.42)
Mucositis oral	0	0	0	0 (0)
Muscle cramps	0	0	0	0 (0)
Nausea	7	4	0	11 (5.06)
Otitis externa	0	1	0	1 (0.46)
Palpitations	0	0	0	0 (0)
Pharyngitis	0	2	1	3 (1.38)
Post-COVID-19 syndrome	0	0	1	1 (0.46)
Rash	2	1	0	3 (1.38)
Somnolence	0	14	1	15 (8.26)
Spasticity	2	1	1	4 (1.83)
Stevens-Johnson syndrome	0	0	0	0 (0)
Tremor	0	1	0	1 (0.46)
Urinary tract infection	0	3	1	4 (1.83)
Uveitis	0	0	0	0 (0)
Vertigo	2	5	0	7 (3.21)
Vomiting	1	1	0	2 (0.92)
Weight gain	0	0	0	0 (0)
Weight loss	1	0	0	0 (0)
Total (%)	76 (34.86)	104 (47.71)	38 (17.43)	218 (100)

AEs were recorded throughout the study, from baseline to 12 months. No life‐threatening or disabling AEs were reported by any participants in this study.

Data availability statement

Data that support the findings of this study are available from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data. Data specifications and applications are available from the corresponding author.

All authors contributed to and approved the final article.

All work was conducted at Curaleaf Clinic, London, UK.