Study Examines Effects of CBD on Inflammatory Bowel Disease Symptoms in Women

Image | adobe.stock/New Africa

A recently published study examined the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (1). The cross-sectional survey collected data from adult women, those who used CBD and those who did not, on the severity of the disease and quality of life. As noted in the study, the causes of IBD are not fully known and there is no cure. The study, “The Perceived Effectiveness of Cannabidiol on Adult Women with Inflammatory Bowel Disease,” was published in Medicina in December 2024. The study is stated as being the first to examine the effect of CBD in adult women with IBD.

For this study, the researchers analyzed data from 71 participants total, 25 who used had CBD and 46 who were either past users of CBD or had never used it. Users of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) were excluded from the study. The anonymous online survey was administered between March and May 2020, and asked questions about demographics (including education and beliefs about cannabis legalization and stigma), CBD dosing and administration method, and perceived effects of CBD.

Highlighted results included:

• 84% of CBD users use additional complementary therapies, while 65.2% of non-users did
• The majority of current users took CBD via an oral tincture (40%) at a dose of 25 mg of CBD or less (56%)
• The majority of past CBD users used an oral tincture (64.7%) at a dose of 10 mg of CBD (23.5%) or were unsure of the dosage used (23.5%) 

For current CBD users:

• 76% reported decreased IBD-related pain
• 64% experienced reduced IBD-related nausea
• 60% reported an improvement in appetite
• None reported negative effects for IBD-related pain, nausea, or appetite.

For those who did not use CBD:

• 24% reported no change in IBD-related pain
• 36% reported no change in IBD-related nausea
• 40% reporting no change in appetite

Two strengths were also noted in the discussion section. First, this study provides data on CBD usage by women in the expanding CBD market. Additionally, there is a lack of research on supplementation and nutrition for women, and this study contributes data on female subjects.

Four limitations were also noted. These included small sample size and the disproportion between CBD users and nonusers, the risk of bias in reporting the effects of CBD, the severity of symptoms skewed toward remission, and the lack of comparison between dosages, frequency of administration and the lack of control for confounding variables.

Ultimately, while the results indicated that CBD use was associated with an improvement in symptoms and quality of life, the researchers called for further studies. “Trends suggested that CBD could lead to improvements in IBD-related pain and nausea, increased appetite, and overall increased quality of life in this understudied and vulnerable cohort,” the researchers noted in the conclusion. “Although self-reported outcomes were promising, no associations with CBD use were shown to be statistically significant.” More studies could potentially explain the results seen in this study, and larger studies were called for, especially ones that combined pharmaceutical and complementary therapies.

Reference

1. Portman, A.; Bukovich, E.; Bissex, J.; Flanagan, M.; Pojednic, R. The Perceived Effectiveness of Cannabidiol on Adult Women with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Medicina 2024, DOI: 10.3390/medicina60122059