Effects of the use of cannabidiol in the treatment of psychiatric diseases: a quick literature review

Abstract

Objective: To carry out a quick review of the literature on the use of cannabidiol (CBD) in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses, in order to identify the benefits and adverse effects of using this substance for this purpose. Methods: A search was carried out in the PubMed database with the descriptors: "mental disorders" OR "mental illness" OR "psychiatric disease" OR "psychiatric disorder" AND "treatment" AND "cannabidiol". Randomized clinical trials evaluating the efficiency of CBD in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses were included. The selection of titles, abstracts and articles read in full was performed in pairs and the Rayyan platform was used to manage the references. Result: 304 articles were identified in the PubMed database, after reading the titles, 87 abstracts were read and, of these, 21 articles were selected for full reading. Finally, after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 4 studies were selected for this review. The articles did not prove the effectiveness of cannabidiol in the treatment of the diseases addressed, as there was no association between the use of CBD and the improvement of symptoms, with one of the studies even pointing to an increase in anxiety levels with the use of CBD. The observed side effects were mild, such as nausea, tiredness, sedation and increased appetite. Conclusions: This rapid literature review was not able to demonstrate that cannabidiol is an effective treatment for psychiatric illnesses, as further studies are needed to prove such benefits.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/tfisdwv1-043