International researchers affiliated with the World Health Organization describe endometriosis as “a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus.” It is estimated that as many as 190 million women suffer from the serious health condition worldwide.

“The cause of endometriosis is unknown. There is no known way to prevent endometriosis. There is no cure, but its symptoms can be treated with medicines or, in some cases, surgery.” The researchers wrote.

A team of researchers based in the United Kingdom and affiliated with various academic and health institutions recently conducted a longitudinal study focusing on endometriosis and medical cannabis therapies. The study’s findings were published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

“This study aimed to perform an analysis of pain-specific and general health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes for patients with endometriosis-associated chronic pain treated with cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs).” the researchers wrote about the focus of their investigation.

“Primary outcomes included changes in patient-reported outcome measures (PrOMs) from baseline to 1, 3, 6, 12 and 18 months. A repeated measures ANOVA was applied to assess changes in PrOMs at 1 to 18 months from baseline. Secondary outcomes included incidence and frequency of adverse events (AEs).” they wrote about their methodology.

“Initiation of CBMPs was associated with improvements in all pain-specific PrOMs from baseline to 18 months (p < 0.050). EQ-5D-5L index value showed improvements between baseline and all months (p < 0.050). Anxiety and sleep quality PrOMs showed improvements from baseline to 18 months (p < 0.050). Minimal clinically significant differences (11%–37%), moderately important improvements (5%–22%) and substantial improvements (0%–11%) were observed in the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and pain severity visual analogue scale.” the researchers found.

“This study observed an association between CBMP treatment and improvements in pain and HRQoL in patients with endometriosis. Causality cannot be inferred due to the nature of this observational study; however, these findings provide complementary evidence for the development of randomised controlled trials to assess the efficacy of CBMPs for endometriosis-associated chronic pain.” they concluded.

The findings of this latest study build on previous research focusing on endometriosis and medical cannabis therapies. A team of researchers affiliated with various health and academic institutions in New Zealand and Australia previously conducted a survey asking about endometriosis, medical cannabis use, and how cannabis therapeutics compared to traditional pharmaceutical medications.

“Cannabis was viewed as superior to pharmaceuticals both in terms of effectiveness and side-effect profile.” the researchers based in New Zealand and Australia determined based on their survey results.

The results of a separate survey previously published in the journal Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics found that nearly 20% of patients diagnosed with endometriosis report consuming medical cannabis to help manage their symptoms.