Gender differences among treatment-seeking adults with cannabis use disorder: Clinical profiles of women and men enrolled in the achieving cannabis cessation-evaluating N-acetylcysteine treatment (ACCENT) study

• DOI: 10.1111/ajad.12503
• Publication Date: 2017-02-02T16:37:36Z
• Authors: Brian J. Sherman; Aimee L. McRae-Clark; Nathaniel L. Baker; Susan C. Sonne; Therese K. Killeen; Kasie Cloud; Kevin M. Gray
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Marijuana Abuse; Cannabinoids; Mental Disorders; Comorbidity; Free Radical Scavengers; Middle Aged; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Acetylcysteine; Patient Care Management; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Help-Seeking Behavior; Sex Factors; 0302 clinical medicine; 5. Gender equality; Humans; Female

Recent evidence suggests that women may fare worse than men in cannabis trials with pharmacologic interventions. Identifying baseline clinical profiles of treatment-seeking cannabis-dependent adults could inform gender-specific treatment planning and development.The current study compared baseline demographic, cannabis use, and psychiatric factors between women (n = 86) and men (n = 216) entering the Achieving Cannabis Cessation-Evaluating N-acetylcysteine Treatment (ACCENT) study, a multi-site, randomized controlled trial conducted within the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network.Women reported greater withdrawal intensity (p = .001) and negative impact of withdrawal (p = .001), predominantly due to physiological and mood symptoms. Women were more likely to have lifetime panic disorder (p = .038) and current agoraphobia (p = .022), and reported more days of poor physical health (p = .006) and cannabis-related medical problems (p = .023). Women reporting chronic pain had greater mean pain scores than men with chronic pain (p = .006). Men and women did not differ on any measures of baseline cannabis use.Cannabis-dependent women may present for treatment with more severe and impairing withdrawal symptoms and psychiatric conditions compared to cannabis-dependent men. This might help explain recent evidence suggesting that women fare worse than men in cannabis treatment trials of pharmacologic interventions. Baseline clinical profiles of treatment-seeking adults can inform gender-specific treatment planning and development.Cannabis-dependent women may benefit from integrated treatment focusing on co-occurring psychiatric disorders and targeted treatment of cannabis withdrawal syndrome.(Am J Addict 2017;26:136-144).