One of the biggest health conditions facing the global community in modern times is fibromyalgia. International researchers estimate that the serious health condition affects between two and eight percent of the global human population.

Fibromyalgia is a long-term, chronic health condition that involves widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and the sufferer experiencing significant pain when they are touched. The pain, in turn, can affect nearly every aspect of the patient’s daily life.

The exact number of people suffering from fibromyalgia around the world remains unknown due to many countries’ health systems being deficient in properly identifying and diagnosing fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, many suffering patients remain undiagnosed and, with it, go untreated.

It wasn’t until recent decades that standardized criteria were established for doctors to diagnose fibromyalgia, and for proper therapies to be developed. Medical cannabis is an area of treatment that is being explored at an increasing rate for fibromyalgia, including in the United Kingdom, where a team of investigators affiliated with various academic and health institutions conducted a study on the topic.

“This study aims to assess the change in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and incidence of adverse events (AEs) in patients treated with cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) for fibromyalgia.” the researchers wrote.

“This case series analysed data from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry (UKMCR). The primary outcome was change in PROMs [Fibromyalgia Symptom Severity, Fibromyalgia Widespread Pain Index, EQ-5D-5L, Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7, and Single-Item Sleep Quality Scale] from baseline to follow-up at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.050.” the researchers stated about their methodology in the journal Clinical Rheumatology.

“There was an improvement in all PROMs (p < 0.010) from baseline to all follow-up periods. Higher CBD doses (> 25.00 mg/day) and previous cannabis use were associated with increased odds of improvement on fibromyalgia-specific scales (p < 0.050). 227 patients (45.67%) reported 2100 AEs (422.54%). Most AEs were mild-to-moderate (n = 1792, 85.33%). The most common AE was fatigue (n = 153, 30.78%).” the researchers found.

“This study found that CBMPs were associated with short to medium-term improvements in pain, anxiety, sleep, and general quality-of-life in patients with fibromyalgia. More randomised controlled trials are warranted to consolidate the literature, but this large analysis provides real-world data to inform their rollout.” the researchers concluded.