Prevention of Comorbid Depression and Obesity in Attention-deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder

Summary

Depression and obesity are very common among adolescents and young adults with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, intervention programmes to prevent these comorbid disorders rarely exist. In a pilot randomized-controlled study we test two newly developed intervention programmes that do not involve medication: bright light therapy and physical exercise. Both interventions will be supported by a mobile Health application to monitor and feedback intervention success and booster patients' motivation.

Conditions

• Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder
• Depression
• Obesity

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Bright light therapy

Mobile therapeutic light (10.000 LUX, white light without UV light), daily (except Sunday) for 30 min in the morning or evening for 10 weeks in total at home provided by a bright light therapy device (Philips EnergyLight HF 3419). Monitoring and feedback will be realized with the m-Health system comprising of a smartphone equipped with the m-Health App, and an activity sensor equipped with a light sensor to monitor the light exposure of the participant.

BEHAVIORAL

Physical exercise

During 10 weeks participants perform three days of aerobic activities proposed and in two of these days also do muscle-strengthening exercise. Specifically, a training day consists of: (i) a 5-min warm-up period, (ii) a 10-35 min of muscle-strength training on two of the three days, (iii) a 20-40 min of aerobic training, (iii), and a 5-min of flexibility/stretching cool-down. During the course of the 10 weeks, the duration and intensity of the exercises will increase gradually. Instruction, monitoring, and feedback will be realised by the m-Health system including a smartphone equipped with the m-Health app and Secure Digital Memory cards to store the exercise videos as well as an activity sensor equipped with a mobile sensor for the acquisition of physical activity.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Heidelberg University

  collaborator OTHER

• Radboud University Medical Center

  collaborator OTHER

• Hospital Vall d'Hebron

  collaborator OTHER

• King's College London

  collaborator OTHER

• Goethe University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Christine M Freitag, Prof. Dr. · Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

14 Years

Max Age

45 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-03-13

Primary Completion

2020-08-31

Completion

2020-08-31

Countries

• Germany
• Netherlands
• Spain
• United Kingdom

Study Locations