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Prolonged Nightly Fasting in Fibromyalgia

Not Applicable
Terminated
Conditions
Fibromyalgia
Interventions
Behavioral: Prolonged Nightly Fasting
Behavioral: Health Education Control
Registration Number
NCT05581849
Lead Sponsor
Arizona State University
Brief Summary

The present randomized-controlled pilot trial will test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an 8-week prolonged nightly fasting (PNF) intervention protocol in 20 adults with fibromyalgia.

Aim 1: Evaluate feasibility and acceptability of the PNF intervention among participants with fibromyalgia.

Aim 2: Evaluate preliminary efficacy of PNF on pain severity and sensitivity, mood, sleep and inflammation.

Detailed Description

Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic widespread pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, negative mood, and cognitive dysfunction. It is estimated about 4 million individuals in the U.S. are affected by fibromyalgia, which results in high disability, lost productivity, and poor quality of life. Various medications have been tested, but findings suggest only small therapeutic effects with high side effects. First line evidence-based psychosocial interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, also yield only small to moderate treatment effects and they require specialized personnel. Thus, there is a dire need to develop a novel approach to manage fibromyalgia symptoms with a high safety profile, are affordable, and are easily implemented by participants without extensive guidance and support from specialized personnel.

Prolonged nightly fasting (PNF) which is a type of time-restricted eating with no or minimal caloric intake for periods of time as few as 12 hours has been shown to promote various health benefits. PNF has also been demonstrated to be highly acceptable and adherable for adults with various clinical condition. Although some dietary patterns have been explored for their impact on pain, the effects of PNF on pain-related outcomes (e.g., pain severity, pain sensitivity), mood, sleep, and inflammation among individuals with fibromyalgia have not been examined. The present randomized-controlled pilot trial will test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an 8-week PNF intervention protocol in 20 adults with fibromyalgia.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
TERMINATED
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
8
Inclusion Criteria
  • age between 18 and 65
  • female
  • able to speak, write, and read English
  • classified as having fibromyalgia based upon criteria established by the most up-to-date 2016 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Criteria for Fibromyalgia
  • has a smartphone.
Exclusion Criteria
  • history of eating disorders assessed by MINI Neuropsychiatric Interview
  • self-report of chronic malignant pain (e.g., cancer, HIV) or systemic inflammatory disease (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus)
  • current use of melatonin or an immunosuppressant medication (e.g., steroids)
  • currently pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding
  • plans to relocate within the next 6 months
  • has diabetes mellitus
  • currently trying to lose weight
  • currently routinely fasting more than 12 hours a night
  • works night shifts

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Prolonged Nightly Fasting (PNF)Prolonged Nightly FastingParticipants will engage in the PNF (14+ hours a night of fasting and no calorie containing food or beverages) for 8 weeks.
Health Education Control (HEC)Health Education ControlParticipants in HEC group will receive weekly 15-minute videos (once weekly) focused on non-diet/non-fasting health educational content for 8 weeks.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Feasibility--drop-out rateAt 8 weeks post-treatment
Feasibility--adherence to interventionAt 8 weeks post-treatment

The number of days prolonged nightly fasting was completed divided by the total number of treatment days

Acceptability of the interventionAt 8 weeks post-treatment

It will be measured by the Global Satisfaction subscale in an adapted version of the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication. The scores are calculated for each of the subscales, which range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating higher patient satisfaction with the intervention.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
FatigueBaseline and 8 weeks post-treatment

Total score of Fatigue Severity Scale (ranges from 9-63; higher score means greater fatigue severity)

Fibromyalgia symtpomsBaseline and 8 weeks post-treatment

Total score from Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) (ranges from 0-100; higher score means greater fibromyalgia symptom severity)

Cognitive FunctioningBaseline and 8 weeks post-treatment

Total score from Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) (ranges from 0-30; higher score means better cognitive functioning)

Central Sensitization IndexBaseline and 8 weeks post-treatment

Index of thermal temporal summation, mechanical temporal summation, conditioned pain modulation, and aftersensations (this is standardized Z-score)

Inflammatory levelsBaseline and 8 weeks post-treatment

IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels

Pain SeverityBaseline and 8 weeks post-treatment

Average of 4 items from the Brief Pain Inventory; each rated on a 0 (no pain) to 10 (pain as bad as you can imagine); ratings are made of pain right now, typical pain, worst pain, and least pain during the past week.

Pain InterferenceBaseline and 8 weeks post-treatment

Average of 7 items from the Brief Pain Inventory; assessing the extent to which participant experienced that pain interfered with their (1) general activity, (2) mood; (3) walking ability; (4) normal walk; (5) relations with other people, (6) sleep, and (7) enjoyment of life

Total Sleep Time (TST)Baseline and 8 weeks post-treatment

TST is defined as the total number of minutes asleep between the time a participant goes to bed at night and the time a participant gets out of bed in the morning. TST will be derived from ambulatory EEG sleep monitoring.

Depressive symptomsBaseline and 8 weeks post-treatment

T-score from PROMIS Emotional Distress-Depression-Short Form

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Arizona State University

🇺🇸

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

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