Toward Exercise as Medicine for Adolescents With Bipolar Disorder

Summary

This study seeks to bridge the knowledge-to-action gap regarding "exercise as medicine" for adolescents with bipolar disorder (BD). Numerous review articles attest to widespread recognition that aerobic exercise (AE) could be an important part of the treatment armamentarium to reduce the symptom burden, neurocognitive dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, improve quality of life (QOL), and even engage core biological treatment targets in BD. It appears self-evident that treatment for adolescents with BD, who experience high symptom burden, neurocognitive deficits, and increased CVD risk, should target their aerobic fitness (AF), yet there is not a single study in the world literature on this topic. Remarkably, there have been no intervention studies that specifically focus on aerobic exercise or that directly evaluate changes in AF in any BD age group. Overall physical activity is important, but focusing on AF offers unique potential benefits in terms of simultaneously ameliorating and enhancing mood, neurocognition, and cardiovascular health. Importantly, a recent American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Statement confirms that it is the most aerobically unfit for whom even modest improvements in AF offer the greatest relative benefits. Nonetheless, important questions arise as to whether and how AF in this population can be improved. There is a clear and unmet need for effective behavior change counseling (BCC) interventions targeting AF that are tailored to the unique needs of adolescents with BD.

Conditions

• Bipolar Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Behavior change counseling

Core modules: 1 psychoeducation session at week 0; 4 behavior change counseling (BCC) sessions will occur at weeks 0, 4, 8, and 12; phone calls and/or texting sessions (weeks 1-3, 5-7, 9-11, and "booster" calls and/or texts on weeks 16 and 20) from therapists. Optional modules: Exercise coaching sessions; family involvement options will include participation in any aspect of the intervention; peer support options will include: group exercise classes on site, online Fitbit groups where adolescents can participate in competitions with each other and provide motivational support, and fitness support groups facilitated by registered social workers.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of British Columbia

  collaborator OTHER

• The Hospital for Sick Children

  collaborator OTHER

• Mood Disorders Association of Ontario

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Benjamin I Goldstein, MD, PhD · Senior Scientist, Psychiatrist

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

13 Years

Max Age

21 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-06-15

Primary Completion

2020-08-21

Completion

2020-08-21

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations