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Tele-CBT One Year Following Bariatric Surgery: A Pilot Study

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Obesity
Interventions
Behavioral: Telephone based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Registration Number
NCT02920112
Lead Sponsor
University Health Network, Toronto
Brief Summary

This second phase of a pilot study (non-drug) will examine the effectiveness and feasibility of Telephone based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Tele-CBT) as an additional treatment to the usual standard of care in bariatric surgery patients. Participants one year post-surgery will receive six sessions of Tele-CBT and complete measures before, during, immediately after, and one year after participation in the study.

Detailed Description

Obesity is an increasingly prevalent chronic condition (Ogden et al., 2006) which is associated with significant health consequences, including type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia (Bray, 2004). Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for patients with extreme obesity (Colquitt et al., 2005). Unfortunately, it has been estimated that 20 to 50% of patients begin to regain their weight within the first 1 ½ to 2 years, and improvements in medical comorbidities dissipate with weight regain (Hsu et al., 1998; Shah et al., 2006). In light of the high relapse rates following bariatric surgery, research on non-surgical factors that influence the outcome of bariatric surgery, such as psychiatric comorbidity, has become increasingly important (Hsu et al., 1998). Up to 55% of bariatric surgery candidates have an Axis I disorder at the time of the initial assessment, with the most common diagnoses being eating disorders (37%), affective disorders (32%), and anxiety disorders (15%) (Muhlhans et al., 2009). Despite accumulating evidence indicating that psychiatric comorbidity is associated with poorer surgical outcomes, psychological interventions are not routinely offered in Bariatric Surgery programs. It has been suggested that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) could be helpful in maintaining weight loss (Kalarchian \& Marcus, 2003). We have published a paper on the feasibility of the protocol using a small sample and producing promising eating improvements post-intervention (Cassin et al., 2013). A more recent study (Cassin et al., 2016) of the first phase of this study with Tele-CBT delivered 6 months before surgery indicated significant improvements in binge eating, emotional eating, and depressive symptoms, compared to a control group. These results are similar to other studies employing CBT for bariatric surgery patients (e.g. Gade et al., 2014). We have recently published on the outcomes for Tele-CBT delivered 6 months post-surgery (Sockalingam, Cassin, Wnuk, Du, Jackson, Hawa, \& Parikh, 2016) that showed significant reductions in scores of binge eating, emotional eating, depression, and anxiety. The same measures used in the first phase of the study (Cassin et al., 2016; Sockalingam et al., 2016) will be used in this second phase, looking at Tele-CBT delivered to patients at one year after surgery. Comparisons between the efficacy of Tele-CBT based on responses to measures will be made for participants receiving the intervention at 6 months before surgery, 6 months after surgery, and 1 year after surgery.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
32
Inclusion Criteria
  1. Fluent in English.
  2. Have access to a telephone and a computer with internet connection.
  3. Have the capacity to provide informed consent.
  4. Patient is at approximately one year post-surgery at the Bariatric Surgery Program at Toronto Western Hospital.
Exclusion Criteria
  1. Active suicidal ideation.
  2. Active serious mental illness
  3. Active severe depression
  4. Active severe anxiety
  5. Active symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SINGLE_GROUP
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
One year post-op Tele-CBTTelephone based Cognitive Behavioral TherapyThis group will receive Telephone based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Tele-CBT) one year after bariatric surgery.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Changes in Eating Pathology: Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDEQ)Baseline pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and 1 year after intervention

41-item self-report measure that assesses eating disorder psychopathology. Only 3 items regarding binge eating will be used. Will be used to measure changes in eating pathology.

Changes in Eating Pathology: Binge Eating Scale (BES)Baseline pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and 1 year after intervention
Changes in Eating Pathology: Ontario Bariatric Eating Self-Efficacy Scale (OBESE) - Changes in Eating PathologyBaseline pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and 1 year after intervention

28-item self-report measure of eating self-efficacy in bariatric patients.

Changes in Eating Pathology: Emotional Eating Scale (EES)Baseline pre-intervention, weekly up to 6 weeks during intervention, immediately post-intervention, and 1 year after intervention,

25-item self-report measure that assesses tendency to cope with negative affect by eating.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Changes in Health-Related Quality of LifeBaseline pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and 1 year after intervention

Measured with Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), a 36-item self-report measure of health-related quality of life.

Satisfaction with Therapy: Working Alliance Inventory - Short Form (WAI-SF)Weekly up to 6 weeks during intervention and immediately post-intervention

12-item self-report measure that assesses the alliance between patient and therapist.

Changes in Anxiety SeverityBaseline pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and 1 year after intervention

Measured with Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), a 7-item self-report measure of anxiety severity.

Satisfaction with Therapy: Helpful Aspects of Therapy Form (HAT)Weekly up to 6 weeks during intervention and immediately post-intervention

brief, open-ended questionnaire completed by participants after each session. Participants are asked to describe in their own words the most helpful event in the session, and to rate how helpful it was.

Changes in Depression SeverityBaseline pre-intervention, weekly up to 6 weeks during intervention, immediately post-intervention, and 1 year after intervention

Measured with Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a 9-item self-report measure of depression severity.

Satisfaction with Therapy: Tele-CBT Client Change InterviewWeekly up to 6 weeks during intervention, immediately post-intervention, 1 year after intervention

a 9-item self-report measure that qualitatively assesses patient experience with the Tele-CBT treatment

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Toronto Western Hospital with the University Health Network

🇨🇦

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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