The Effects of Light Therapy on Circadian Rhythms, Sleep, and Mood in Postpartum Depression

University of Michigan10 enrolled

Overview

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 Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Depression, Postpartum

Interventions

Light therapyDEVICE

Light therapy glasses

Eligibility

Sex: FEMALEMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

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 * Lupus * currently taking an antibiotic, medication that contains hydrochlorothiazide, or isotretinoin (Accutane).

Locations (1)

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change From Baseline Score of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Version (SIGH-SAD) at 5 Weeks

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

Time frame: After five weeks of light therapy

Change From Baseline Score of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 5 Weeks

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.

Time frame: After five weeks of light therapy

Change From Baseline Time of Dim Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO) at 5 Weeks

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

Time frame: After five weeks of light therapy

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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