Reducing Diabetes Distress Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes

Summary

This project proposes to use telemedicine-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) enhanced with continuous glucose monitor (CGM) review to target diabetes distress in adults with type 1 diabetes. The efficacy of CBT for diabetes distress (CBT-DD) will be tested in comparison to commercial FDA-approved CGM only in a randomized controlled clinical trial. The investigators' central hypothesis is that the addition of a CBT intervention that targets diabetes distress and self-management directly will yield clinically significant improvements in both diabetes distress and glycemic control relative to CGM alone. The investigators propose to recruit 93 adults (age 18-64) with type 1 diabetes from a national population for an entirely virtual 6-month study over four years, with targeted recruitment of racial/ethnic minorities. In addition to standard measurement of HbA1c for glycemic control and validated patient-reported outcome (PRO) surveys, the investigators plan to innovatively integrate momentary psychological and behavioral data via smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment with CGM data to assess day-to-day changes in diabetes distress, affect, self-management, and glycemia over the course of the trial.

Conditions

• Type 1 Diabetes

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Diabetes Distress (CBT-DD) with Continuous Glucose Monitoring

CBT-DD consists of approximately 10 individual sessions of CBT delivered virtually by trained protocol therapists, conducted over the course of approximately 12 weeks. The CBT-DD consists of 5 core modules targeting negative emotionality and aversive reactions to emotional experiences. These modules are preceded by an introductory session that reviews the patient's presenting symptoms and provides a therapeutic rationale, as well as a module on motivational enhancement. The final module consists of relapse prevention. CBT-DD sessions will integrate a review of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) data and feedback will be provided by the therapist.

DEVICE

Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)

Use of commercially available, FDA-approved continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for 6 months post-randomization. Usual diabetes care will continue and participants can initiate a CGM review from their healthcare providers, as desired. In addition, a nurse practitioner with expertise in CGM will train each participant via video recordings in the proper placement of the device, and technical issues, and provide basic teaching at the beginning of the trial on interpretation of CGM data and self-titration of insulin/self-management. Written materials and online resources for recognizing and managing diabetes distress, along with self-management information and treatment options to discuss with providers will also be provided.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• DexCom, Inc.

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Breakthrough T1D

  collaborator OTHER

• Albert Einstein College of Medicine

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jeffrey Gonzalez, PhD · Yeshiva University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

64 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-06-27

Primary Completion

2026-06-30

Completion

2026-06-30

FDA Device

Yes

Countries

• United States

Study Locations