Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease

Summary

Insomnia is prevalent (45%) in CHD patients and associated with significantly increased risk for recurrent cardiovascular events. Insomnia has recently been identified as the third most important risk factor for prognosis. However, very few insomnia patients are identified and receive treatment of insomnia today. CBT-I is the first-line treatment for insomnia, but studies on the effects in CHD patients are lacking. This project aims to document the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) in an outpatient population with coronary heart disease (CHD). Furthermore, the biological and psychological mechanisms that may mediate the effects of the intervention will be identified. Finally, a health-economic simulation and a qualitative study of the participants experiences with CBT-I will be performed. This prospective, randomized, intervention study will continue until data have been collected for the primary outcome on 66 CHD outpatients with a diagnosis of insomnia assessed by Bergen Insomnia Scale (BIS). Participants will be randomised to a short, nurse-administered, CBT-I delivered in a group format or to sleep hygiene advice. The primary outcome will be remission from BIS-insomnia post-treatment and at 6-months follow-up. Secondary outcomes will be changes in insomnia severity, objective and subjective sleep parameters, daytime symptoms of insomnia, and quality of life. Exploratory outcomes include inflammation, cortisol, HbA1C, and cognitions/metacognitions. The project may document the effectiveness of CBT-I for a large patient-group with potentially favorable long-term effects on important clinical outcomes.

Conditions

• Insomnia Chronic
• Coronary Heart Disease

Interventions

OTHER

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for insomnia (CBT-I)

Five 60-90 minutes weekly sessions delivered by an appropriately trained cardiac nurse at a cardiology department. The CBT-I intervention will follow a manualized treatment protocol developed by Espie and colleagues (Espie et al. 2001, 2007, 2008) and evaluated in a number of published RCTs using CBT-I. The key components of this intervention include sleep hygiene advice, stimulus control, sleep restriction, relaxation training, and cognitive restructuring.

OTHER

Sleep Hygiene Advice

"Sleep well" is a 16-page written brochure developed by the Directorate of Health in Norway for dissemination to patients with sleep problems including insomnia. It covers general sleep hygiene advice (setting a regular bed-time, avoiding stimulants, alcohol and exercise in the evening, sleeping in a quiet bedroom, advice of practicing relaxation technique and postpone worries).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Oslo University Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Oslo

  collaborator OTHER

• Vestre Viken Hospital Trust

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

75 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-12-30

Primary Completion

2026-06-15

Completion

2026-06-15

Countries

• Norway

Study Locations