The use of cannabidiol (CBD) led to ‘dramatic reductions’ in anxiety, according to the results of a recent study. The study’s participants also showed improvements in sleep, mood, quality of life and other important health factors, according to a report on the research by Marijuana Moment.
“Results from this open-label clinical trial provide evidence that a hemp-derived, full-spectrum, high-CBD product similar to those currently available in the marketplace may be both safe and efficacious for the treatment of anxiety,” the study’s authors wrote.
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, according to information from the Anxiety & Depression Association of America. The condition affects 40 million adults (about 19% of the U.S. population) each year. Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, but only about 28% of those who would benefit from treatment receive care for the condition.
The new study was written by researchers affiliated with Harvard Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry and conducted at Harvard Medical School’s largest psychiatric facility, McLean Hospital. The results of the study were published in August by the peer-reviewed journal Biomedicines.
Seven-Week Study Included 12 Participants
The small study consisted of 12 adult participants with moderate to severe anxiety. Each participant was provided with a CBD formulation and instructed to self-administer the product twice daily for six weeks, for a total dose of 30 milligrams of CBD per day.
The study subjects were required to abstain from using cannabis before the commencement of the research and throughout the seven-week study. To ensure compliance with the requirement, participants were tested for the cannabis metabolite THC-COOH during each visit of the study.
Within one week of beginning the CBD regimen, participants anxiety symptoms, sleep, mood, quality of life, cognition, executive function and memory improved, according to study data.
“Few side effects were reported, and no serious adverse events occurred,” the researchers noted.
The study’s findings suggest that CBD may be an effective alternative to the treatments commonly used for anxiety, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
“In the present study, dramatic reductions in anxiety occurred following just one week of treatment with the study product,” the authors wrote. “First-line treatments for anxiety,” such as SSRIs, according to the researchers, “can take several weeks to demonstrate efficacy.”
The study used a proprietary CBD formulation from Colorado-based Charlotte’s Web. The company also helped fund the research, a point the researchers noted in their report about the study.
“The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results,” the authors wrote.
CBD Effective for Moderate to Severe Anxiety
The research showed that CBD was effective at reducing symptoms of moderate to severe anxiety. The researchers also noted the the CBD formulation was tolerated well by the study participants.
“Findings from this clinical trial provide preliminary evidence that use of this proprietary hemp-derived, full-spectrum, high-CBD sublingual product may result in clinical improvement with few side effects in patients with moderate-to-severe anxiety, extending previous work suggesting CBD may be efficacious for anxiety,” the paper notes.
The authors of the study called for further research to investigate the efficacy and safety of using commercially available CBD formulations to treat anxiety among members of the general population.
“Given the potential benefits observed in this trial, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of hemp-derived high-CBD products are warranted to obtain robust data regarding the safety and efficacy of CBD-containing products for anxiety,” the researchers concluded.
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