Sex, Psychopharmacology, and Diabetes

Schizophrenia Clinical Trial

— SECRET  

Official title:

The Effect of Targeted Education on Number, Severity, and Perception of Sexual Side Effects of Patients Suffering From Schizophrenia and Diabetes or Prediabetes.

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05951660
• Other study ID #: EMN-2022-08015, SJ-1005
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 24, 2023
• Est. completion date: July 31, 2025

Study information

• Verified date: July 2023
• Source: Zealand University Hospital
• Contact: Gesche Jürgens, Clinical Professor
• Phone: +45-93566501
• Email: gju[@]regionsjaelland.dk
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The term sexual (SD) dysfunction covers conditions that prevent people from having a satisfactory sex life. SD is a frequent and sometimes debilitating complication of mental illness and a known adverse reaction to psycho-pharmacological treatment. SD is also associated with diabetes, a common somatic comorbidity in psychiatric patients. SD is associated with both reduced quality-of-life and reduced treatment adherence, yet SD is far too rarely addressed between the patient and the healthcare professional in clinical consultations.

The purpose of the study is to investigate whether targeted education of patients with schizophrenia and diabetes/prediabetes and/or their healthcare professionals in causes and management of SD:

• Increases the number of systematic examinations of sexual side effects,

• Causes changes in the psycho-pharmacological treatment, and

• Reduces the severity or perception of sexual side effects.

The study is a multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with four arms, in which the educational intervention is provided to patients, healthcare professionals, or both groups. The effect of the educational intervention is compared to a non-educated control group. The study is expected to include 192 patients recruited from 16 assertive community treatment centers evenly distributed in four Danish regions.

The study is part of an interdisciplinary project named SECRET. The educational intervention was developed in an ethnographic pre-study incorporating stakeholder engagement. Parallel to the present RCT, an ethnographic field study will be carried out to broaden the perspective on the effects of the intervention.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 192
• Est. completion date: July 31, 2025
• Est. primary completion date: July 31, 2025
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age = 18 years

• A diagnosis in the schizophrenic spectrum (ICD10 F2x)

• A diagnosis of diabetes (ICD10 E10x, E11x, E12x, E13x, 14x) or prediabetes defined as an HbA1c between 39-47 mmol/mol (both included) measured in at least two blood samples collected with =3 months interval as part of the patients routine clinical monitoring

• Ongoing treatment with at least one antipsychotic agent

• Complaints about SD that can be rated using Changes in Sexual Function Questionnaire-14 (CSFQ-14)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Incapacitated or subject to mental health probation

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Diabetes Mellitus
• Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions
• Education
• Glucose Intolerance
• PreDiabetes
• Prediabetic State
• Psychotic Disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders
• Sexual Dysfunction

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Educational intervention
Different teaching sessions are used for patients and healthcare professionals, respectively. The teaching sessions are held at the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Centers from which the patients are recruited. The duration is 3x30 minutes with breaks for patients and 60 minutes for healthcare professionals. Teaching sessions are held by two doctors a specialist in clinical pharmacology and a specialist in psychiatry and clinical sexology providing the participants with knowledge and tools for the dialogue on SD and drug-related side effects. The topics of the teaching sessions are: What is sexuality? How psychopharmacology influences sexuality What can be done? The topics will be addressed in a mixture of short informative talks using a PowerPoint presentation, group discussions, and exchanges of personal experiences.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Denmark	Assertive Community Centres	Slagelse

Sponsors (4)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Zealand University Hospital	Mental Health Services in the Capital Region, Denmark, Steno Diabetes Center Sjaelland, University College Copenhagen

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Denmark, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Changes from baseline to follow up in the total score of Changes in Sexual Function Questionnaire-14 (CSFQ-14)	Measured by Changes in Sexual Function Questionnaire-14 (CSFQ-14)	At inclusion and at follow-up, i.e. 6 months after the educational intervention is finished.
Secondary	Changes in psycho-pharmacological treatment	Estimated by changes in prescribed medications	Recorded continuously throughout the entire study period, i.e. from the day of the educational intervention to 6 months after the end of the educational intervention.
Secondary	The frequency in which sexual issues are discussed in the clinical consultation	The number of systematic examinations of sexual side effects estimated by the number of consultations where sexual side effects are addressed, and whether it is the patient or the healthcare professional, who addresses the subject.	Recorded continuously throughout the entire study period, i.e. from the day of the educational intervention to 6 months after the end of the educational intervention.
Secondary	Changes from baseline to follow up in compliance / Adherence to the Pharmacological Treatment	Measured by Rating of Medication Influences (ROMI) Scale	At inclusion and at follow-up, i.e. 6 months after the educational intervention is finished.
Secondary	Changes from baseline to follow up in shared decision making	Measured by Shared Decision Making-9 (SDM) measurement tool	At inclusion and at follow-up, i.e. 6 months after the educational intervention is finished.