Table 2. Main Results From OLS Regressions, Estimating the Treatment Effect of Taking Medical Cannabis on Quality-of-Life Outcomes (SF-36).
| Outcome | Univariate regression (1)a | Control variables (2)b | Patient-fixed effects (3)c | ES | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| β (95% CI) | R2 | β (95% CI) | R2 | β (95% CI) | R2 | ||
| Estimated change from baseline on the SF-36 associated with medical cannabis treatment | |||||||
| General health | 5.94 (4.77 to 7.10) | 0.02 | 6.22 (4.29 to 8.15) | 0.15 | 8.42 (6.73 to 10.11) | 0.73 | 0.38 |
| Bodily pain | 13.12 (11.89 to 14.36) | 0.07 | 15.55 (13.77 to 17.33) | 0.33 | 17.34 (15.41 to 19.27) | 0.68 | 0.72 |
| Physical functioning | 5.29 (3.76 to 6.82) | 0.01 | 6.24 (4.01 to 8.48) | 0.33 | 6.60 (4.57 to 8.63) | 0.79 | 0.21 |
| Role-physical | 13.37 (11.55 to 15.18) | 0.03 | 14.52 (11.65 to 17.39)d | 0.16 | 16.81 (13.58 to 20.04) | 0.49 | 0.58 |
| Mental health | 9.35 (8.26 to 10.44) | 0.04 | 9.87 (8.12 to 11.62)d | 0.18 | 11.00 (9.32 to 12.68) | 0.69 | 0.49 |
| Role-emotional | 16.17 (14.11 to 18.23) | 0.04 | 12.91 (9.53 to 16.29)d | 0.09 | 14.19 (10.01 to 18.36) | 0.41 | 0.38 |
| Social functioning | 15.97 (14.53 to 17.41) | 0.07 | 17.03 (14.72 to 19.35)d | 0.18 | 18.31 (15.86 to 20.77) | 0.61 | 0.68 |
| Vitality | 10.41 (9.26 to 11.55) | 0.05 | 11.85 (9.91 to 13.80) | 0.14 | 12.91 (11.02 to 14.79) | 0.63 | 0.62 |
| Estimated change from baseline on the SF-36 associated with medical cannabis treatment (THC/CBD balanced products only) | |||||||
| General health | 6.39 (3.86 to 8.93) | 0.02 | 7.41 (4.56 to 10.27) | 0.15 | 9.06 (7.18 to 10.93) | 0.73 | 0.41 |
| Bodily pain | 13.00 (10.57 to 15.42) | 0.07 | 15.92 (13.36 to 18.48) | 0.33 | 18.03 (15.86 to 20.21) | 0.68 | 0.75 |
| Physical functioning | 0.39 (−2.67 to 3.45) | 0.01 | 6.07 (2.92 to 9.23) | 0.33 | 6.81 (4.55 to 9.07) | 0.79 | 0.22 |
| Role-physical | 13.12 (9.58 to 16.66) | 0.03 | 15.61 (11.56 to 19.65) | 0.16 | 16.73 (13.30 to 20.16 | 0.49 | 0.58 |
| Mental health | 12.11 (10.08 to 14.13) | 0.05 | 11.44 (9.10 to 13.78) | 0.18 | 11.62 (9.66 to 13.58) | 0.69 | 0.52 |
| Role-emotional | 17.41 (13.55 to 21.27) | 0.04 | 15.43 (10.86 to 19.99) | 0.09 | 15.84 (11.17 to 20.51) | 0.41 | 0.43 |
| Social functioning | 18.35 (15.55 to 21.15) | 0.08 | 19.49 (16.29 to 22.69) | 0.18 | 20.19 (17.46 to 22.93) | 0.61 | 0.75 |
| Vitality | 12.55 (10.24 to 14.87) | 0.05 | 13.85 (11.15 to 16.54) | 0.14 | 13.66 (11.48 to 15.85) | 0.63 | 0.66 |
| Estimated change from baseline on the SF-36 associated with medical cannabis treatment (CBD-dominant products only) | |||||||
| General health | 6.10 (4.73 to 7.46) | 0.02 | 6.19 (4.03 to 8.35) | 0.15 | 8.67 (6.89 to 10.45) | 0.73 | 0.39 |
| Bodily pain | 13.89 (12.44 to 15.34) | 0.07 | 16.41 (14.36 to 18.46) | 0.33 | 17.65 (15.61 to 19.68) | 0.68 | 0.73 |
| Physical functioning | 7.18 (5.36 to 9.01) | 0.01 | 6.86 (4.43 to 9.29) | 0.33 | 6.68 (4.54 to 8.81) | 0.79 | 0.22 |
| Role-physical | 14.48 (12.33 to 16.64) | 0.04 | 15.35 (12.06 to 18.63) | 0.16 | 17.61 (14.13 to 21.09) | 0.49 | 0.61 |
| Mental health | 8.86 (7.56 to 10.15 | 0.04 | 9.48 (7.44 to 11.51) | 0.18 | 11.07 (9.31 to 12.83) | 0.69 | 0.50 |
| Role-emotional | 16.96 (14.53 to 19.39) | 0.04 | 12.81 (8.94 to 16.67) | 0.09 | 13.61 (9.21 to 18.00) | 0.41 | 0.37 |
| Social functioning | 16.33 (14.64 to 18.02) | 0.07 | 17.30 (14.65 to 19.95) | 0.18 | 18.08 (15.48 to 20.68) | 0.61 | 0.67 |
| Vitality | 10.00 (8.68 to 11.32 | 0.05 | 11.65 (9.50 to 13.81) | 0.14 | 13.08 (11.13 to 15.04 | 0.63 | 0.63 |
| Estimated change from baseline on the SF-36 associated with medical cannabis treatment (THC-dominant products only) | |||||||
| General health | 5.55 (2.88 to 8.22) | 0.02 | 5.61 (2.76 to 8.46) | 0.15 | 7.06 (4.83 to 9.29) | 0.73 | 0.32 |
| Bodily pain | 11.90 (9.09 to 14.71) | 0.07 | 14.76 (12.08 to 17.43) | 0.33 | 17.17 (14.74 to 19.60) | 0.68 | 0.71 |
| Physical functioning | 6.58 (2.43 to 10.73) | 0.01 | 6.19 (2.08 to 10.29) | 0.33 | 7.18 (4.67 to 9.69) | 0.79 | 0.23 |
| Role-physical | 11.28 (7.14 to 15.42) | 0.03 | 12.72 (8.37 to 17.06) | 0.16 | 16.29 (11.98 to 20.60) | 0.49 | 0.56 |
| Mental health | 9.16 (6.65 to 11.67) | 0.04 | 10.18 (7.58 to 12.79)d | 0.18 | 11.44 (9.17 to 13.71)d | 0.69 | 0.51 |
| Role-emotional | 13.12 (8.53 to 17.70 | 0.04 | 11.00 (5.89 to 16.10) | 0.09 | 14.12 (8.69 to 19.55) | 0.41 | 0.38 |
| Social functioning | 13.58 (10.28 to 16.88) | 0.07 | 14.77 (11.30 to 18.24) | 0.18 | 17.10 (13.93 to 20.27) | 0.61 | 0.64 |
| Vitality | 9.93 (7.36 to 12.50) | 0.05 | 10.58 (7.63 to 13.52) | 0.14 | 12.52 (10.17 to 14.87) | 0.63 | 0.60 |
Abbreviations: CBD, cannabidiol; ES, effect size (Cohen d); SF-36, 36-Item Short Form Health Survey; THC, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.
a
Includes only the binary indicator for taking medical cannabis.
b
Introduces control variables for the number of medications patient takes every day, binary indicators for both 8 medication categories and 4 primary diagnosis categories, the number of other comorbidities, the patient’s age, gender and employment status, the reciprocal of the number of follow-up consults since commencing treatment, and month- and year-fixed effects.
c
Incorporates patient-fixed effects (in addition to the before-mentioned control variables).
95% CIs clustered at the patient level are displayed in parenthesis.