The Effects of Light Therapy on Circadian Rhythms, Sleep, and Mood in Postpartum Depression
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- University of Michigan
- Enrollment
- 10
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Change From Baseline Time of Dim Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO) at 5 Weeks
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The proposed study aims to establish the feasibility of light therapy for postpartum depression delivered via Re-Timer, demonstrate its preliminary efficacy, and illuminate relationships between circadian shifts and mood changes using a novel, home-based circadian biomarker assessment paradigm (salivary dim light melatonin onset; DLMO).
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Na
- Intervention Model
- Single Group
- Primary Purpose
- Treatment
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- Female
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- •Within 6 months postpartum
- •Meet DSM-V diagnostic criteria for MDD
- •Score ≥ 20 on the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder version (SIGH-SAD).
Exclusion Criteria
- •current diagnosis of bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia or psychosis, dissociative disorders, eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, somatic symptom and related disorders, substance use disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia per DSM-V
- •past history of mania/hypomania,
- •chronic medical conditions associated with depression (e.g., thyroid conditions)
- •ocular or retinal pathology
- •history of seizures or epilepsy
- •color blindness
- •currently taking an antibiotic, medication that contains hydrochlorothiazide, or isotretinoin (Accutane).
Arms & Interventions
Light Therapy
Participants will use commercially-available light therapy glasses (Re-Timer) daily for 60 minutes for five weeks.
Intervention: Light therapy (Device)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Change From Baseline Time of Dim Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO) at 5 Weeks
Time Frame: After five weeks of light therapy
Onset of melatonin in dim light conditions as measured in saliva (also called DLMO) Time of DLMO is measured in clock time, so a positive number in change would represent a later onset of melatonin and a negative number represents an earlier onset of melatonin
Change From Baseline Score of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Version (SIGH-SAD) at 5 Weeks
Time Frame: After five weeks of light therapy
Clinician-rated depression symptom severity measure; Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Version (SIGH-SAD) (29 item version) measures depressive symptoms on a continuous scale. Higher scores indicate worse outcomes. Scores can range from 0 -73, where 0 means no depression, and 73 is the greatest possible depression. Generally scores of 20 or higher represent clinical depression
Change From Baseline Score of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 5 Weeks
Time Frame: After five weeks of light therapy
Self-report of depression symptoms. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale is scored from 0 to 30 where 0 is no depression and 30 is most severe depression.
Secondary Outcomes
No secondary outcomes reported
Investigators
Leslie Swanson
Assistant Professor
University of Michigan