Optimizing Long-Term Outcomes for Winter Depression With CBT-SAD and Light Therapy

Seasonal Affective Disorder Clinical Trial

Official title:

Optimizing Long-Term Outcomes for Winter Depression With CBT-SAD and Light Therapy: Confirming the Targets, Mechanisms, and Treatment Sequence

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Active, not recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03691792
• Other study ID #: R01MH112819
• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 1, 2018
• Est. completion date: February 28, 2025

Study information

• Verified date: June 2024
• Source: University of Vermont
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Major depression is a highly prevalent, chronic, and debilitating mental health problem with significant social cost that poses a tremendous economic burden. Winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a subtype of recurrent major depression that affects 5% of the population (14.5 million Americans), involving substantial depressive symptoms for about 5 months of each year during most years, beginning in young adulthood.

Description:

Winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a subtype of recurrent depression involving major depressive episodes during the fall and/or winter months that remit each spring. The central public health challenge in the management of SAD is prevention of winter depression recurrences. This application focuses on two SAD treatments that each work for some patients: light therapy (LT) and a SAD-tailored group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT-SAD). LT is the acute SAD treatment with the most substantial evidence to support its efficacy. Correction of circadian phase is LT's established target and mechanism. In our recently completed R01-level efficacy trial, post-treatment outcomes for CBT-SAD and LT were very similar, but CBT-SAD was associated with fewer depression recurrences over 2-year followup than LT (27.3% in CBT-SAD vs. 45.6% in LT). CBT-SAD engaged and altered a specific mechanism of action, seasonal beliefs, which improved at twice the rate during CBT-SAD compared to LT, and this improvement was associated with lower risk for recurrence following CBT-SAD. This confirmatory efficacy R01 will apply the experimental therapeutics approach to determine how each treatment works when it is effective and to identify the best candidates for each. We will ascertain whether theoretically-derived candidate biomarkers of each treatment's target and effect are prescriptive of better outcomes in that treatment vs. the other. Biomarkers of LT's target and effect include circadian phase angle difference (PAD) and the post-illumination pupil response (PIPR). Biomarkers of CBT-SAD's target and effect include pupil dilation and sustained gamma band EEG responses to seasonal words, which are hypothesized to reflect less engagement with seasonal stimuli following CBT-SAD and corroborate with the established target of seasonal beliefs. In addition to determining change mechanisms, we will test the efficacy of a "switch" decision rule upon recurrence to inform clinical decision-making in practice. We will randomize 160 adults with SAD to 6-weeks of CBT-SAD or LT in Winter 1; follow subjects in Winter 2; and, if a depression recurrence occurs, cross them over into the alternate treatment (i.e., switch from LT to CBT-SAD or CBT-SAD to LT). All subjects will be followed in Winter 3. Biomarker assessments will occur at pre-, mid-, and post-treatment in Winter 1, at Winter 2 followup (and again at mid-/post-treatment for those crossed-over), and at Winter 3 followup. Consistent with NIMH's priorities for demonstrating target engagement at the level of RDoC-relevant biomarkers, this work aims to confirm the targets and mechanisms of LT and CBT-SAD to maximize the impact of future dissemination efforts.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Enrollment: 141
• Est. completion date: February 28, 2025
• Est. primary completion date: February 28, 2025
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Principle DSM-5 diagnosis of Major Depression, Recurrent, with Seasonal Pattern. -Meet Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version (SIGH-SAD) criteria for a current SAD episode (see below).

• No use or stable use of antidepressants (i.e., a consistent dose of the same medication maintained for > 4 weeks with no plans to change).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current or past light therapy or CBT for SAD.

• Presence of a comorbid Axis I disorder that requires immediate treatment (i.e., bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, substance use disorder).

• Acute and serious suicidal intent.

• Planned absences of >1 week from the area through March.

• History of conditions that are known contra-indications to LT, including conditions associated with toxicity of bright light to the retina (i.e., macular degeneration or any retinopathy).

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Mood Disorders
• Seasonal Affective Disorder

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT-SAD)
12 group sessions over 6 weeks

Other:
• Light Therapy
10,000-lux initiated at 30 min upon waking and adjusted per treatment algorithm, continuing for 6 weeks

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Vermont, Psychology Department	Burlington	Vermont

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Vermont	University of Maryland, Baltimore, University of Pittsburgh

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version (SIGH-SAD)	Semi-structured interview of depressive symptoms	past 1 week
Primary	Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II)	self-report measure of depressive symptoms	past 2 weeks