Amrit Baral, PhD
University of Miami
Co-Authors: Bria-Necole Diggs1, Michelle Thompson1, Girardin Jean-Louis1, Denise C Vidot1
1University of Miami
Background: The endocannabinoid system is a complex network of receptors and neurotransmitters that have been shown to regulate sleep physiology. Cannabis has been shown to impact cancer- and sleep-related health independently. Despite this, research examining the interrelationship with all three: cannabis, sleep, and cancer is sparse.
Objective: To estimate the prevalence of sleep disorder in current, former, and never cannabis consumers who are patients within an National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.
Methods: Data are from the Cannabis and Cancer study (N=437) of adult cancer survivors at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Participants were recruited from MYUChart notification, flyers, and physician referral. Cannabis was self-reported as current (last use within the last 30-days), former (use beyond 30-days ago), and never use (no lifetime use). Sleep disorder diagnosis was reported via a medical history questionnaire. Cancer stage, active treatment status, demographics, and other substance use was reported. Chi-squared tests were employed to examine the differences in proportions between groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis assessed the association between cannabis use and sleep disorders.
Results: The overall sample [mean age= 49.8 years (SD=15.6) 49.2% female, 41.7% Hispanic/Latino] consisted of 45.5% current cannabis consumers, 25.4% former cannabis consumers, and 29.1% non-cannabis consumers. Sleep disorder diagnosis was reported by 16.5% of the sample of adults living with cancer. Non-cannabis consumers had a higher prevalence of reported sleep disorders (29.9%) than current cannabis consumers (10.6%) and former cannabis consumers (11.7%, p<0.0001), combined. Most (75.1%) of the sample was in active cancer treatment. Sleep disorders were reported in 11.1% of cannabis consumers in active cancer treatment compared to 33.3% of non-consumers in active cancer treatment. After adjusting for age, cancer stage, sex, race/ethnicity, cancer treatment status, alcohol and tobacco use, current cannabis consumers had a 0.196 odds of reporting a sleep disorder than non-cannabis consumers (95% CI: 0.098 – 0.393); former cannabis consumers had 0.330 odds of reporting a sleep disorder than non-cannabis consumers (95% CI: 0.154 – 0.707).
Conclusions: Adults living with cancer who have a history of former or current cannabis consumption had lower odds of reporting sleep disorder diagnosis than non-consumers; the relationship persisted after adjusting for demographics, cancer details, and alcohol and tobacco use. Future studies should be prospective and include objective measurements of sleep, cannabis use, and cancer status.