Pilot Study to Examine Health Effects of Daylight Exposure on Dementia Patients

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Behavior Disorders; Dementia; Depression
• Interventions: Other: Daylight Intervention

• Registration Number: NCT03483896
• Lead Sponsor: University of Southern California

Brief Summary

This study is designed to test the hypothesis that an intervention increasing exposure to daylight indoors will reduce depression and other neuropsychiatric symptoms among people living with dementia in long term care facilities.

Detailed Description

Exposure to sufficient daylight indoors is a novel and potentially effective nonpharmacological treatment option for reducing depression and other neuropsychiatric symptoms for people living with dementia in long term care facilities. However, there are currently no minimum requirements for daylight access in care facilities. In urban settings, it is common for residents to spend the majority of the day indoors, illuminated by electrical light sources that deliver light with significantly lower intensities and reduced spectrum compared with daylight.

A 12-week pilot study was conducted in 8 dementia care facilities involving (n = 83) participants addressing the hypothesis that an intervention increasing indoor exposure to daylight will reduce depression and other neuropsychiatric symptoms. At 4 facilities, staff was enlisted to increase daylight exposure by taking participants to a perimeter room with daylight exposure for socialization in the morning (8:00 - 10:00 AM) each day. At the other 4 facilities, a control group were taken to a similar sized area without daylight for socialization under typical electrical lighting conditions. Outcome measures for depression and other neuropsychiatric symptoms were taken at the beginning and end of the 12-week study.

Basic Information
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Recruitment & Eligibility
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Study & Design
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Trial Locations

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2017-01-30
• Primary Completion: 2017-05-10
• Study Completion: 2017-06-05
• Study First Submitted: 2018-03-21
• Study First Submitted QC: 2018-03-28
• Study First Posted: 2018-03-30
• Results First Submitted: 2018-05-15
• Status Verified: 2018-12
• Results First Submitted QC: 2018-12-21
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-12-21
• Results First Posted: 2019-03-29
• Last Update Posted: 2019-03-29

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 83

Inclusion Criteria

• Residents were recruited according to the trial inclusion criteria: 1) Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) diagnosis, 2) no physical co-morbidities that precluded participation in the daily group intervention, and 3) a Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) score of 10 or higher

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Exclusion Criteria

• physical co-morbidities that precluded participation in the daily group intervention

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Daylight Intervention	Daylight Intervention	At the 4 facilities in the active light intervention arm, staff increased the daylight exposure of participants by taking them to the perimeter zone of a daylit room from 8:00 to 10:00 AM for socialization over a period of 12 weeks. The perimeter zone was defined to be the region of the room within 3 meters from windows. The intervention was administered each day (7 days / week) over the duration of the study.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD)	A CSDD score was taken at the beginning of the 12-week study and once again at the end of the 12-week study.	The Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) was used to measure depression. The CSDD is designed for the assessment of depression in older people with dementia who can at least communicate basic needs. The CSDD scale ranges from 0 to 38, with higher scores indicating higher levels of depression. Scores above 10 indicate a probable major depression. Scores above 18 indicate a definite major depression. Scores below 6 are associated with absence of significant depressive symptoms.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Neuropsychiatric Inventory Nursing Home Version (NPI-NH)	A NPI-NH score was taken at the beginning of the 12-week study and once again at the end of the 12-week study.	The Neuropsychiatric Inventory Nursing Home Version (NPI-NH) was used to measure neuropsychiatric symptomatology. The NPI-NH is a scale designed for assessment of people with dementia residing in extended care facilities. The NPI-NH includes ten behavioral areas (delusions, hallucinations, agitation/aggression, depression/dysphoria, anxiety, elation/euphoria, apathy/indifference, disinhibition, irritability/lability, aberrant motor behavior) and two types of neurovegetative changes (sleep and nighttime behavior disorders, appetite and eating disorders). Each of the 12 areas is scored on a subscale ranging from 0-12, where higher scores indicate greater neuropsychiatric symptomatology. A summary score is obtained from summing all 12 subscale scores. The summary score ranges from 0 - 144, where higher scores indicate greater neuropsychiatric symptomatology.

Trial Locations

Locations (8)

Alhambra Dementia Care; 🇺🇸 Alhambra, California, United States

Sierra Vista Memory Care Community; 🇺🇸 Azusa, California, United States

Calabasas Memory Care Community; 🇺🇸 Calabasas, California, United States

Costa Mesa Dementia Care; 🇺🇸 Costa Mesa, California, United States

Los Angeles Dementia Care (Beverly Place); 🇺🇸 Los Angeles, California, United States

Tustin Hacienda Memory Care Community; 🇺🇸 Tustin, California, United States

Redondo Beach Dementia Care (Beach Cities); 🇺🇸 Redondo Beach, California, United States

San Juan Capistrano Memory Care Community; 🇺🇸 San Juan Capistrano, California, United States