Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41621036›Full record

SynthesisQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2026

Health-related quality of life in patients receiving medicinal cannabis: systematic review and meta-analysis of primary research findings 2015-2025.

Margaret-Ann Tait, Louise Acret, Daniel S J Costa, Rachel Campbell, Kate White, Claudia Rutherford

Erratum issuedAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Margaret-Ann TaitFaculty of Medicine and Health, Susan Wakil School of Nursing, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. margaret-ann.tait@sydney.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9907-1049
Louise AcretFaculty of Medicine and Health, Susan Wakil School of Nursing, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-8648-5570
Daniel S J CostaFaculty of Science, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6111-0620
Rachel CampbellFaculty of Science, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5013-8361
Kate WhiteFaculty of Medicine and Health, Susan Wakil School of Nursing, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4763-1734
Claudia RutherfordFaculty of Medicine and Health, Susan Wakil School of Nursing, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4637-4572

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe global burden of chronic health conditions is significant. Medicinal cannabis (MC) is a legalised treatment option for patients with chronic health conditions in some countries. Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is an important patient-reported outcome across all chronic health conditions. We aimed to determine how studies of MC therapy justify, measure, and report HRQL, and assess the current evidence for HRQL following MC treatment.

methodsSystematic review searching AMED, Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, Cinahl, and PsycINFO from Jan 2015 to Apr 2025. Studies using validated HRQL measures pre-, and post-MC treatment for any chronic health condition were included. Screening and data extraction were performed independently by two reviewers. Completeness of HRQL reporting was evaluated. Meta-analyses for short-term (2-weeks to 3-months), medium-term (> 3 to < 12-months), and long-term (≥ 12-months) HRQL outcomes were conducted, with Risk of Bias (RoB) assessed in randomised control trials (RCTs).

resultsOf 16,674 retrieved citations, 64 studies were retained for analysis:12 RCTs; 38 cohort studies; 13 case series; 1 non-randomised experimental study. Thirty-nine studies (61%) provided justification for assessing HRQL and five (8%) provided HRQL definitions. Studies used generic (n = 52, 81%) or condition-specific (n = 12, 19%) HRQL measures, with EQ-5D-5L most commonly used. Meta-analyses: RCTs showed small short-term HRQL improvements (Cohen's d = 0.30, p = 0.03), with some concerns or low RoB. For observational studies, HRQL improved in all follow-up periods (d = 0.43 to 0.74; all p < 0.001). HRQL improvement varied between, and within, different health conditions.

conclusionThis systematic review and meta-analyses of studies published between 2015 and 2025 found that few studies provided HRQL definitions, and a third of studies did not explain why they measured HRQL. To ensure appropriate measures are used for this important treatment outcome, future studies should define HRQL and justify the HRQL assessment in the context of research objectives. Overall, improvements in HRQL were observed across studies of patients using MC.

Indexed as

Health StatusMedical MarijuanaQuality of LifeChronic DiseaseHumansPatient Reported Outcome MeasuresMedical MarijuanaHealth-related quality of lifeMedicinal cannabisMeta-analysisPatient-reported outcome measuresPatient-reported outcomesSymptom management

Identifiers

PMID41621036
PMCPMC12862010

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.