Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of older medical cannabis users at the intake visit
| Older adults (n = 9766) |
Men (n = 3908) |
Women (n = 5856)* |
Men vs women** | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (mean ± SD) | 73.2 ± 6.8 | 72.5 ± 6.2 | 73.6 ± 7.1 |
t = 7.93, p < 0.0001 |
| % Prior cannabis use | 15.5% (n = 7230) | 19.5% (n = 2794) | 13.0% (n = 4434) |
z = 7.44, p < 0.0001 |
| % Smoking | 11.3% (n = 7441) | 11.6% (n = 2794) | 11.1% (n = 4566) |
z = −0.65, p = 0.52 |
| % Alcohol use | 62.2% (n = 9765) | 66.1% (n = 3908) | 59.6% (n = 5855) |
z = −6.44, p < 0.0001 |
| Medications | n = 9620 | n = 3842 | n = 5776 | |
| OTC analgesics | 44.5% | 37.3% | 49.3% |
z = 11.62, p < 0.0001 |
| Opioids | 28.3% | 27.9% | 28.6% |
z = −0.66, p = 0.51 |
| NSAIDs | 24.5% | 23.3% | 25.3% |
z = 2.25, p = 0.024 |
| Antidepressants | 21.4% | 16.3% | 24.8% |
z = 9.97, p < 0.0001 |
| Nerve modulators | 14.3% | 12.9% | 15.3% |
z = 3.38, p = 0.0007 |
| Benzodiazepines | 12.3% | 9.1% | 14.4% |
z = 7.81, p < 0.0001 |
| Primary diagnosis | n = 9620 | n = 3842 | n = 5776 | |
| Pain | 67.7% | 63.3% | 70.6% |
z = 7.52, p < 0.0001 |
| Oncological | 10.1% | 12.7% | 8.4% |
z = −6.88, p < 0.0001 |
| Psychiatric | 7.9% | 8.4% | 7.6% |
z = −1.33, p = 0.18 |
| Neurological | 7.0% | 8.8% | 5.8% |
z = −5.60, p < 0.0001 |
| Others | 7.3% | 6.8% | 7.6% |
z = 1.31, p = 0.19 |
Nerve modulators include pregabalin and gabapentin for pain; antiepileptics include carbamazepine, valproic acid, phenytoin, and lamotrigine. A breakdown of primary diagnosis indications in the categories of pain, psychiatric disorders, and neurological disorders is shown in the Electronic Supplementary Material (SI Table 2)
NSAID nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, OTC over the counter, SI supplementary information
*Two users identified as “other” gender (introduced in the questionnaire in 2019) and were excluded from summary statistics and statistical comparisons
**Statistics reported are t or z statistic and p value