Controlled Study of Chain Blanket for Insomnia

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Insomnia
• Interventions: Device: Weighted metal chain blanket; Device: Control plastic chain blanket

• Registration Number: NCT03546036
• Lead Sponsor: Karolinska Institutet

Brief Summary

The aim of the study is to compare an intervention with a weighted metal chain blanket of 8 kg with a control plastic chain blanket of 1,5 kg for patients with Major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and co-occurring insomnia. Patients are evaluated by a rater blind to treatment allocation with Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Fatigue Symptom Inventory (FSI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) and actigraphy before, during and at primary end-point after 4 weeks use of the blanket.

Detailed Description

Insomnia is a common and problematic symptom in many psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of weighted chain blankets on insomnia and other sleep-related symptoms for patients with Major depressive disorder, Bipolar disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and/or ADHD. Potential participants are asked to participate in a study comparing two different types of chain blankets, not mentioning the difference in weight. After signing a informed consent, participants were randomly assigned on a 50/50 basis to a weighted blanket containing metal chains weighing 8 kg or a control blanket containing plastic chains weighing 1,5 kg. Insomnia severity is assessed before and weekly until endpoint at four weeks use of the blanket by a rater blind to treatment allocation. Participants sleep will also be monitored by actigraphy. The controlled phase of the study is followed by a one year open follow up study where all participants are offered to use a weighted blanket of any type.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2015-03-04
• Primary Completion: 2017-07-07
• Study First Submitted: 2018-05-01
• Study First Submitted QC: 2018-05-22
• Study First Posted: 2018-06-06
• Study Completion: 2018-06-20
• Status Verified: 2018-07
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-07-15
• Last Update Posted: 2018-07-17

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 119

Inclusion Criteria

• Clinical insomnia for more than two months with a score over 14 points at the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)1 and a diagnosis of either major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, Generalized Anxiety disorder (GAD) or ADHD.

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Exclusion Criteria

• active drug abuse,
• overuse of sleep medication,
• illness affecting cognitive functions, such as dementia, schizophrenia, developmental disorders, Parkinson's disease or an acquired brain injury.

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Weighted metal chain blanket	Weighted metal chain blanket	As experimental intervention, a weighted metal chain blanket of 8 kg was used during the night. Using a flexible dose protocol, participants who found the 8 kg blanket too heavy were allowed to change to a 6 kg weighted blanket (see below)
Control plastic chain blanket	Control plastic chain blanket	As sham comparator, light chain blankets were used, were plastic chains of the same shape and size as the metal chains in the weighted blanket were sewn in. The control blanket has a weight of 1535 grams. When checking the weight of standard blankets for sale in one of the largest stores in Stockholm, weight was ranging from 550 to 2389 grams (average 1332).

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)	Change from start to 4 weeks use of the blanket.	Self-report rating scale assessing the severity of insomnia symptoms. Range 0-28 with higher scores indicating a more severe insomnia

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Fatigue Symptom Inventory (FSI)	Change from start to 4 weeks use of the blanket.	Self-report symptom rating scale for daytime fatigue symptoms. Range 0-130 with higher scores indicating a more severe fatigue.
Actigraphy	Change from start to 4 weeks use of the blanket. .	An actigraph attached to the arm of the participants on the week before the intervention and during the fourth (last) week of the intervention assessing sleep by interpretation of movement
Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)	Change from start to 8 weeks, 6 and 12 months use of the blanket	Self-report rating scale assessing the severity of insomnia symptoms. Range 0-28 with higher scores indicating a more severe insomnia
"Day and night diaries", developed by Assistive technology Stockholm for the evaluation of weighted blankets	Change from start to 4 weeks use of the blanket in patient estimated time (minutes) from going to bed to sleep onset.	Self reported time to sleep onset.
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD).	Change from start to 4 weeks use of the blanket.	HAD is a self report rating scale for anxiety and depression symptoms.The HAD is subdivided into subscales for depressive symptoms (HAD-D) and anxiety symptoms (HAD-A), with a range of 0-21 for each subscale. Higher scores indicates more severe symptoms.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Psykiatri Sydväst, Huddinge sjukhus; 🇸🇪 Stockholm, Stockholms Län, Sweden