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Family-Based Interoceptive Exposure for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

Not Applicable
Suspended
Conditions
Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
Interventions
Behavioral: MBIE
Registration Number
NCT06110806
Lead Sponsor
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Brief Summary

This project aims to establish the feasibility and acceptability of a comprehensive mind and body intervention; specifically a mindfulness-based interoceptive exposure (MBIE) for families of youth diagnosed with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). This project will: (1) explore the feasibility of recruitment, retention, and data collection procedures with youth with ARFID at end of treatment, (2) establish the acceptability and adherence of the MBIE intervention, and (3) evaluate the number of MBIE sessions required to observe changes in the number of foods avoided and mindfulness skills.

Detailed Description

A total of 57 individuals with ARFID ages 12-18 will be enrolled to outpatient mindfulness-based interoceptive exposure (MBIE). MBIE targets increasing psychological flexibility and acceptance by decreasing avoidance and attempts to control distressing or undesired internal experiences, and includes psychoeducation, targeted mindfulness practice, in vivo exposures, and counter-conditioning. MBIE will be administered in 20 sessions. Interview, self-report, anthropometrics, laboratory feeding, and behavioral task data will be used to characterize the sample to their response to treatment over time. Follow-up assessments will be completed at session 5, 10, 15, and 20. The final assessment will take place 3 months after treatment ends. Total participation will last 9 months.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
SUSPENDED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
57
Inclusion Criteria

Patient:

  • Aged 12-18
  • Speaks English
  • Permission from pediatrician or equivalent to receive outpatient care, including that the patient does not meet criteria for hospitalization based on the American Psychiatric Association guidelines
  • Diagnosis of Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, as assessed by the EDA-5

Parent:

  • Has a child aged 12-18 with a diagnosis of ARFID
  • Speaks English
Exclusion Criteria
  • Comorbid psychotic or bipolar disorder
  • Psychiatric medication initiated or with a dosage change in the two weeks prior to baseline testing
  • Active suicidal ideation
  • Major medical condition (e.g., diabetes mellitus, pregnancy)
  • Current substance dependence, as evidenced by tolerance and withdrawal
  • Evidence of anatomical findings by imaging (e.g., swallow study) that would prevent safe consumption of the shake or those with a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy or other similar feeding tube insertion
  • Children with visual or physical limitations that would preclude watching a screen and using a finger to respond with mouse clicks (e.g., blindness, epilepsy if exposure to flashing lights at certain intensities or to certain visual patterns can trigger seizures).

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SINGLE_GROUP
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Mindfulness-based interoceptive exposure (MBIE)MBIEOutpatient therapy for individuals with ARFID using mindfulness and exposures in a family-based therapy approach.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
MBIE-adapted Therapy Suitability and Acceptability Scale to measure Patient MBIE Therapy Tolerabilityup to 6 months

An MBIE-adapted Therapy Suitability and Acceptability Scale will average specific items from patient's view on match of therapy to the problem, responsiveness of intervention to different treatment challenges, degree of unexpected discomfort related to treatment, interest in using therapy experiences beyond the therapy session. This scale includes 10-20 items, depending on the session content, and is measured using a Likert scale from 1-7. Scores are calculated using a sum of all items, with a possible range of scores of 10 to 140. Higher scores indicate greater suitability of the treatment for the child and expectancy of success with the intervention.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Number of MBIE sessions required to achieve tolerabilityup to 6 months

The number of MBIE sessions required to achieve a clinically meaningful outcome (consuming food rated as70 or higher on the Food Avoidance Scale). The Food Avoidance Scale is investigator-derived and includes 1 item rated on a scale of 0-100 with higher scores indicating consumption of more challenging/avoided foods.

Therapist Adherence to MBIE Therapyup to 6 months

Adherence of the MBIE intervention will be measured with ratings of therapy tapes of 20 sessions. Adherence will be calculated using a dichotomous scale (yes/no) of items rating the extent of use of treatment elements and the quality of delivery of the intervention. As the number of treatment elements vary, and some items are reverse coded, the minimum, maximum, and scaling are not utilized. Per item adherence can range from 0 to 100%.

Dropout Rateend of treatment, at approximately 6 months

Retention will be measured using rates of dropout between baseline and session 20 (end of treatment, at approximately 6 months).

Participant Rating of Acceptability Scaleup to 9 months

Acceptability of data collection and assessment procedures will be measured using participant ratings of acceptability for total time and frequency on an investigator-derived scale. This measurement includes items assessing the (1) tolerability and (2) ease of completing laboratory, behavior, and self-report tasks using a 15 mm visual analog scale. Scores are calculated by summing all ratings (in mm), ranging from 0-20. Higher scores indicate greater acceptability of study assessments.

Change in Expected Body Weight PercentageBaseline and approximately 6 months

Expected body weight percentage will be calculated for age and sex to evaluate physical status at baseline and end of treatment (session 20) to evaluate any changes during treatment.

Functional Food Hierarchy to Measure Tolerabilityup to 6 months

The number of MBIE sessions required to achieve a clinically meaningful outcome and acceptable tolerability using a Functional Food Hierarchy. This measurement rates a minimum of 11 food items on a scale of 0-10 at 10 levels of the hierarchy (subjective units of distress). Scores range from 0-100 with higher scores indicating lower avoidance/increased consumption.

Change in total calories consumedBaseline and approximately 6 months

Autonomous eating will be measured in total calories consumed during a single-item meal. Total calories consumed will be calculated between baseline and end of treatment (session 20).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Department of Psychiatry, Eating and Weight Disorders Program

🇺🇸

New York, New York, United States

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