Cannabis and complementary/alternative self-treatment approaches for symptom management among African American persons living with HIV

ABSTRACT

Persons living with HIV (PLWH) experience symptoms from disease progression and side effects of antiretroviral treatment. This study examines in African American PLWH (N = 259) commonly-endorsed symptoms, types and self-rated efficacy of therapies for symptom alleviation. Analyses were stratified by gender (n = 178 males, n = 81 females) and cannabis use typology: non-users (n = 90), mostly recreational use (n = 46), mixed recreational/therapeutic use (n = 51), or mostly therapeutic use (n = 72). Females reported greater severity for pain, fatigue, depression, weight change and tingling in extremities, but there were no gender differences for ratings of poor sleep, anxiety, poor appetite, or headache. Both marijuana (used therapeutically by females more than males) and medication(s) were among the 3 top methods for managing pain, poor sleep, anxiety, and headache. Marijuana was most often used for poor appetite, and medications for depression. Perceived efficacy of self-treatment approaches was moderately good. Among African American PLWH, symptom severity was higher for females and for therapeutic users of cannabis. Marijuana and medicine were often used to self-treat symptoms, but many participants did nothing. These results highlight the need for careful evaluation and management of symptoms in this underserved population.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV
• marijuana
• symptoms
• treatment
• alternative therapies

Acknowledgements

NIH R01 DA032678 (to MKG) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Gertrude Levin Endowed Chair in Addiction and Pain Biology (MKG), Helene Lycaki/Joe Young, Sr. Funds (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services), and the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network supported this research. Funding sources had no role in the design or conduct of this study, nor in the preparation of this manuscript. The authors thank Brian McClatchey, Christina DeAngelis, Elorie Eggleston, Hayley Harrison, and Lisa Sulkowski for data collection and management. MKG oversaw all aspects of the project including data collection and management, analyses, and drafted sections of the manuscript. NA and PB conducted literature review and drafted sections of the manuscript. AYO contributed to conceptualizing and editing the manuscript. JAC facilitated recruitment of participants, helped to interpret the clinical significance of findings, and edited the manuscript. LHL helped to determine clinical assessments, interpret the findings, and edited the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services: [Helene Lycaki/Joe Young, Sr. Funds]; National Institute on Drug Abuse: [grant number NIH R01 DA032678]; Gertrude Levin Endowed Chair in Addiction and Pain Biology; Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network.