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Post-Concussion SyndromeNCT04708522

Breath Control and Mindfulness for Post Concussion Anxiety and Depression: a Feasibility Study

A study testing Guided Mindfulness Exercise in people with Post-Concussion Syndrome and Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms, run by Western University, Canada at 1 site in Canada.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
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Trial summary

Persistent-post-concussion symptoms (PPCS) is a condition that effects on average one in seven persons following a concussion. Anxiety and depression symptoms are experienced by over one-third of those with PPCS. These symptoms can delay recovery from a concussion. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 65 years
What is being tested?
Guided Mindfulness Exercise
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
30 participants
Where
1 siteCanada
Study dates
Jan 2021to Jul 2021
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 65 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Ages ≥18 to ≤65 years of age
  • Males and females
  • Ability to comprehend English (written and spoken)
  • Physician-diagnosed concussion ≥ 4weeks prior to commencing study
  • Experiencing post-concussion symptoms (>0 on the RPQ)
  • Experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression (Score ≥ 5 on the GAD-7 or ≥ 5 on the PHQ-9)
  • Access to an internet accessible device (e.g., computer, smart phone or tablet)
  • Access to a smart device (iOS or Android) (required for use of "Awesome Breathing" application)

Who cannot join

  • <18 or >65 years of age
  • Score < 5 on the GAD-7 or < 5 on the PHQ-9
  • Score 0 on RPQ
  • Inability to comprehend English (written and/or spoken)
  • History of cardiovascular or cardiorespiratory condition
  • History of non-traumatic acquired brain injury
Show all 11Show fewer
  • History of neurological or neurodevelopment disorder
  • History of unmanaged or managed psychiatric diagnosis (i.e., mental health issue, including bipolar, schizophrenia, etc.)
  • No history substance abuse (drug or alcohol)
  • Current pregnancy
  • Currently attending other yogic or meditation/mindfulness therapy sessions

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

James P Dickey, PhD contact

5196612111 ext. 87834

jdickey@uwo.ca

William N Campbell, MSc contact

2263389876

wcampb23@uwo.ca

Canada1 site
  • University of Western Ontario

    London, Ontario, N6A3K7

    James P Dickey, PhD, 5196612111 ext. 87834, jdickey@uwo.ca

Other trials in Canada

About this study

Official title: Remote Delivery of a Brief Self-guided Breath Control and Mindfulness Exercise for the Treatment of Post-concussion Anxiety and Depression Symptoms: The Feasibility of a Randomized Control Trial

Persistent-post-concussion symptoms (PPCS) is a condition that effects on average one in seven persons following a concussion. Anxiety and depression symptoms are experienced by over one-third of those with PPCS. These symptoms can delay recovery from a concussion. Two techniques used to treat anxiety and depression symptoms are breath control and mindfulness exercises. This 8-week feasibility study will evaluate the implementation and compliance of a remote delivered breathing and mindfulness treatment program for individuals experiencing PPCS anxiety or depression symptoms.

Read the detailed description

This study will assess the feasibility of a randomized control study designed to remotely deliver a breath control and guided mindfulness exercise to individuals experiencing post-concussion symptoms of anxiety or depression. Participants will be randomized into one of the study arms after they have met eligibility criteria and have given informed consent. Study arm interventions include a 20-minute paced breathing (breath control) exercise, a 20-minute guided mindfulness exercise, and a sham control arm that incorporates a minimal instruction 20-minute quiet sitting meditation exercise. The participant is asked to complete their assigned intervention daily for a period of eight weeks and to complete weekly and biweekly follow-up questionnaires. The questionnaires will include the Rivermead Post-Concussion Syndrome Questionnaire (RPQ) and the Positive Affect Negative Affect Survey Short Form (PANAS) completed weekly, the General Anxiety and Depression questionnaire (GAD-7) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) completed biweekly. These questionnaires will be completed prior to a participant commencing the study (pre-test measure), at weekly intervals throughout the study (at end of week), and at the conclusion of the 8-week study (post-test measure). At the conclusion of the study participants will be asked to complete the Treatment Acceptability / Adherence Scale (TAAS), a measure used to assess the acceptability of the intervention from the point of view of the participant. All participant outcome measures, and intervention tracking questionnaires will be administered through a secure internet user-input interface.

Being tested
Breath Control - Equal Breathing Technique, Guided Mindfulness Exercise, Control
Keywords
Breath control, Mindfulness
Medical subject headings
Post-Concussion Syndrome, Anxiety Disorders, Depression

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Breath Control - Equal Breathing TechniqueBehavioural

    The equal breathing (EB) exercise also known as square or box breathing will follow the four-part breathing cycle of inhalation, hold, exhalation, hold, repeat. Each part of the cycle will be a 4 second count repeated for 20 minutes.

  • Guided Mindfulness ExerciseBehavioural

    The guided seated mindfulness (GSM) exercise will lead the participant through a 20 minute mindfulness meditation exercise using an audio recording.

  • ControlBehavioural

    The control intervention will utilize a sham exercise. The participant will be asked to rest in a comfortable seated position for the duration of the 20 minute session.

Study groups in NCT04708522
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Breath ControlExperimentalParticipants in the breath control study arm will be given a breathing exercise that is to be completed in a comfortable upright seated posture. This intervention exercise will be completed daily for a period of 8 weeks.
Receives: Behavioral: Breath Control - Equal Breathing Technique
Guided MindfulnessExperimentalParticipants in the guided mindfulness study arm will be lead through a seated mindfulness exercise. This intervention exercise will be completed daily for a period of 8 weeks.
Receives: Behavioral: Guided Mindfulness Exercise
ControlSham comparatorParticipants in the control group will receive a sham intervention. The sham intervention will involve minimal instructed meditation exercise. This intervention exercise will be completed daily for a period of 8 weeks.
Receives: Behavioral: Control

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Feasibility of recruitment

    Proportion of screened individuals choosing to participate (and reasons for not participating)

    Measured: Start of recruitment and end of recruitment (approximately 4 months from initiation of study)

  2. Feasibility of completion

    Proportion of participants who drop-out prior to program completion

    Measured: Start of study participation at baseline and end of study participation at completion of study (approximately 6 months from initiation of study)

  3. Feasibility of compliance

    Proportion of program sessions attended (and reasons for non-attendance); proportion of participants that complete surveys

    Measured: Start of study participation at baseline and end of study participation at completion of study (approximately 6 months from initiation of study)

  4. Feasibility of delivery

    Investigator time-cost analysis of intervention delivery (investigator time/participant)

    Measured: Start of recruitment and end of study (approximately 6 months from initiation of study)

  5. Acceptability of intervention

    Evaluated using Treatment Acceptability/Adherence Scale - individual item mean score of 10 item questionnaire each ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (agree strongly)

    Measured: Assessed at conclusion of 8-week intervention participation for duration of study

  6. Effectiveness of intervention (PHQ-9)

    Change in participant outcome measures (questionnaires) for all treatment arms:

    Change in depressive symptoms measured by PHQ-9 - total score ranges from 0 (no symptoms) to 27 (severe symptoms) for all treatment arms

    Measured: Assessed at baseline, at the end of weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 throughout intervention participation for duration of study

  7. Effectiveness of intervention (GAD-7)

    Change in participant outcome measures (questionnaires) for all treatment arms:

    Change in anxiety symptoms measured by GAD-7 - total score ranges from 0 (no symptoms) to 21 (severe symptoms) for all treatment arms

    Measured: Assessed at baseline, at the end of weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 throughout intervention participation for duration of study

  8. Effectiveness of intervention (RPQ)

    Change in participant outcome measures (questionnaires) for all treatment arms:

    Change in post-concussion symptoms measured by RPQ - total score ranges from 0 (not experienced) to 64 (severe problem) for all treatment arms

    Measured: Assessed at baseline, at the end of weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 throughout intervention participation

  9. Effectiveness of intervention (PANAS)

    Change in participant outcome measures (questionnaires) for all treatment arms:

    Change in positive and negative affect measured by PANAS - total score ranges from 10 (lower) to 50 (higher) for each of positive affect and negative affect for all treatment arms

    Measured: Assessed at baseline, at the end of weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 throughout intervention participation

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Participant demographic data

    Participant demographic data will be used to describe participant volunteers to inform sample population characteristics.

    Measured: Baseline

  2. Concussion history data

    Participant concussion history will provide descriptive analysis of mechanism of injury, number of concussions, characteristics of current concussion injury (time since injury, hospitalization due to injury)

    Measured: Baseline

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted14 Jan 2021
  2. Study startJan 2021 (estimated)
  3. Primary completionMay 2021 (estimated)
  4. Study completionJul 2021 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
30 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04708522
Sponsor's protocol ID
118148
Status last verified
Nov 2020
First submitted
16 Dec 2020
Last updated
14 Jan 2021
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No: Each participant will be identified with a code based on study protocol, testing year and participant number (e.g., SP#YYPID#: SP#201001) that correlates to his or her addition to the study. The master reference that contains the decoding system will be stored on a secure server behind fire wall protection. All other data will be labeled using the participant's identification code.

Publications

  • Milosevic I, Levy HC, Alcolado GM, Radomsky AS. The Treatment Acceptability/Adherence Scale: Moving Beyond the Assessment of Treatment Effectiveness. Cogn Behav Ther. 2015;44(6):456-69. doi: 10.1080/16506073.2015.1053407. Epub 2015 Jun 19.

    PubMed 26091250
  • Eyres S, Carey A, Gilworth G, Neumann V, Tennant A. Construct validity and reliability of the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire. Clin Rehabil. 2005 Dec;19(8):878-87. doi: 10.1191/0269215505cr905oa.

    PubMed 16323387
  • Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001 Sep;16(9):606-13. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x.

    PubMed 11556941
  • Watson D, Clark LA, Tellegen A. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Jun;54(6):1063-70. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063.

    PubMed 3397865
  • Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Lowe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22;166(10):1092-7. doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092.

    PubMed 16717171

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Guided Mindfulness Exercise in people with Post-Concussion Syndrome and Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms, run by Western University, Canada at 1 site in Canada.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 8 inclusion and 11 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 14 Jan 2021. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact James P Dickey, PhD (5196612111 ext. 87834, jdickey@uwo.ca), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Feasibility of recruitment (time frame: Start of recruitment and end of recruitment (approximately 4 months from initiation of study)). The study lists 9 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04708522, which also lists 5 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 14 Jan 2021.

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