0352 Prevalence of Marijuana Use versus Evidence-Based Treatments for Sleep and Relaxation

Abstract

Introduction: Marijuana is often used to manage insomnia and anxiety symptoms, even though efficacious, evidence-based treatments (EBTs) are available. Marijuana may provide short-term sleep and relaxation benefits, followed by rapid habituation and worsening of symptoms. We compared the prevalence of marijuana use for sleep/relaxation to the use of EBTs in a large sample of recently unemployed individuals. Method(s): Assessing Daily Activity Patterns through Occupational Transitions (ADAPT) is a longitudinal study examining linkages between job-loss, sleep, obesity, and mental health outcomes. We examined cross-sectional data from 513 participants of the ADAPT phone screen interview who reported recent use of sleep aids or treatments for sleep/relaxation problems. EBT was defined as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), Ambien, and Benzodiazepines. A two-sample test of proportions was conducted to determine difference in prevalence of marijuana versus use of EBTs. Sensitivity analysis redefined EBTs as including tricyclic antidepressants, a commonly- prescribed but non-evidence-based treatment for insomnia. Result(s): Our analysis indicated a trend for higher prevalence of marijuana use (18%, n=92) than use of EBTs (14%, n=74; difference =.04, p=.08). After inclusion of tricyclic antidepressants, prevalence of use of EBTs (25%) was significantly higher than of marijuana (p=.006), but marijuana remained the single most common treatment for sleep/relaxation. Only 4% of our sample received CBT-I (n=2, difference=.18, p < .0001), 4% used Ambien (n=22, difference=.14, p