Physical Exercise in OCD: Treatment Efficacy, Additive Benefits to CBT, and Cognitive Correlates of Change

Summary

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe and debilitating anxiety disorder afflicting 2% of the population. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is considered first line psychological treatment for OCD, but there are a large number of treatment non-responders, and the majority of responders have residual symptoms. Aerobic exercise has shown potential benefit for general mood and anxiety disorders, but has not been widely tested in OCD. This study will examine the additive benefits of a standard 12-week aerobic exercise program to a standard 12-week CBT protocol in the treatment of OCD. The study will test if Exercise+CBT results in significantly better clinical outcomes compared to either treatment alone or no treatment at all. Treatment outcomes will be assessed in relation to symptom and cognitive measures of clinical improvement.

Conditions

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Cognition Disorders

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Exercise

12 weeks of structured aerobic exercise, 3 times a week, following a two-stage graduated regimen: 1) Initial stage (weeks 1-4): 40-60% intensity, 15-30 min duration (+ 5 min warm-up/cool-down), and 2) Improvement stage (weeks 5-12): 60-80% intensity, 30-45 min duration. Adherence measures include self-reported exercise session logs and weekly phone checks by research assistants.

BEHAVIORAL

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT will be delivered in group format, 2 hours per week, for 12 consecutive weeks with 8-10 participants per group and will be conducted according to a session-by-session treatment manual that incorporates Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) in the early phases of treatment and then increases emphasis on cognitive approaches for obsessions and compulsions outlined in step-by-step strategies.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

  collaborator OTHER

• McMaster University

  collaborator OTHER

• Toronto Metropolitan University

  collaborator OTHER

• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-05-31

Primary Completion

2017-10-31

Completion

2019-08-30

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations