0400 Comparing the Effectiveness of Cannabis to Treat Sleep Impairments Between Those with and Without Sleep Disorders

Abstract Introduction People are increasingly turning to cannabis to treat sleep disorders and symptoms. Despite mixed results in prior research, there is a small body of research indicating that cannabis could have a positive impact on sleep disorders, as well as people who have sleep issues that haven’t arisen to a clinical level warranting diagnosis. It’s important to understand if there are differences in the effectiveness of these therapies between those who have a sleep disorder diagnosis versus those who do not. Methods Using an online cross-sectional survey, individuals across Pennsylvania self-reported how they used cannabis to treat sleep disturbances (N=1034). Participants self-reported demographics, employment status and hours, sleep diagnoses, mental health diagnoses, cannabis use for sleep, symptoms of Cannabis Use Disorder using the Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test Short Form (CUDIT-SF, range: 0-12), and their sleep disturbances using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI, range: 0-28). To determine if a formal sleep diagnosis is associated with insomnia severity while using cannabis, a one-way ANCOVA was used to compare the difference between those with and without sleep diagnoses on the ISI on days that cannabis was used. Analyses controlled for age, gender, race, number of mental health diagnoses, cannabis use disorder, employment status, and job shifts that may negatively impact sleep. Results While using cannabis, both those with a diagnosis (M=9.56, SD=4.39) and without a diagnosis (M=8.56, SD=4.06) reported scores well below the clinical cutoff of 15 on the ISI. There was a significant effect of formal sleep disorders on ISI scores after controlling for stated covariates F(1, 827)=6.69, p=.01. While most participants used cannabis for sleep daily, a subset of the sample did not (n =222). Using a paired t-test, we compared if insomnia severity was significantly reduced on days when using cannabis compared to when not using. There was a significant increase in ISI scores on days that individuals did not use cannabis (M=13.43, SD=4.82) compared to days they used cannabis (M=8.76, SD=4.15), t(221)=14.85, p.001. Conclusion While patients with formal sleep disorder diagnoses still report greater sleep issues, both groups showed significant improvement in their levels of impairment related to sleep while using cannabis. Support (if any)