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Healthy Lifestyles for Bipolar Disorder

Time-restricted Eating vs. Mediterranean Diet as Adjunctive Interventions for Bipolar Disorder

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06188754
Acronym
HL
Enrollment
300
Registered
2024-01-03
Start date
2024-06-05
Completion date
2029-02-28
Last updated
2026-08-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Diet, Mediterranean, Time Restricted Eating

Keywords

bipolar disorder, sleep, circadian rhythm

Brief summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effects of two different healthy lifestyles on outcomes for those with bipolar disorder. The goals are to understand the acceptability of time-restricted eating and the mediterranean diet for those who are already receiving medication treatment for bipolar disorder, and to consider how these two food plans predict changes in manic symptoms, depressive symptoms, and Quality of Life. Participants will complete daily measures of eating, sleep and mood for two weeks, and then will be assigned to follow one of the two food plans for eight weeks. The investigators will measure symptoms and Quality of Life at baseline and during and after the food plan.

Detailed description

The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine the effects of time-restricted eating as compared to the mediterranean diet. In time-restricted eating (TRE), participants will be asked to limit their food intake to a period of 10 hours per day. In the mediterranean diet, participants will be asked to follow a food plan that emphasizes vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and olive oil as central dietary components. The investigators aim to test both food plans as additions to standard medication approaches in bipolar disorder. Participants who are receiving medical treatment for bipolar disorder and who report at least some sleep or circadian problems will complete baseline measures and then will be randomly assigned to TRE or the mediterranean diet for 8 weeks, and then will complete measures of symptoms, Quality of Life, and possible treatment mechanisms at the end of treatment and at 3, 6 and 12 months after the intervention. If successful, this work will provide a novel, easily implemented and highly acceptable intervention for BD.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALMediterranean diet

Dietary advice designed to improve consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and the use of olive oil.

BEHAVIORALTime restricted eating

Limiting food intake to 10 hours per day

Sponsors

University of California, Berkeley
Lead SponsorOTHER
University College, London
CollaboratorOTHER
Swinburne University of Technology
CollaboratorOTHER
Deakin University
CollaboratorOTHER
University of British Columbia
CollaboratorOTHER
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
CollaboratorOTHER
Wellcome Trust
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Outcomes will be assessed by an interviewer who is unaware of treatment condition.

Intervention model description

Participants will be randomly assigned to take part in either time-restricted eating or the Mediterranean diet.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* meets diagnostic criteria for bipolar I disorder or bipolar II disorder (but not cyclothymia, BD Not otherwise specified or BD due to another medical condition) * current sleep (insomnia, hypersomnolence) or circadian sleep-wake (delayed phase, advanced phase, irregular sleep-wake, non-24-hour sleep-wake-type) concerns indicated by endorsement of at least some sleep or circadian-related impairment across the screening self-reports or interview * Living in an English-speaking country (and one that we have expertise in research procedures and diet) * Has been speaking English for at least 10 years, speaks English in the home, or certifies that they are able to understand English well for the study and demonstrates this during the screening interview. * Receiving medical care for BD (referrals will be provided for those who would like to begin care) * Mood-stabilizing medication regimens stable for at least one month * \< 5 kg weight change in the past 3 months * Currently eating ≥ 12 hours per day at least twice per week * Able to operate the camera function and respond to web-based surveys by phone (loaner phones will be provided as needed) * Not engaged in current shift work or have other responsibilities such as providing care that would chronically disrupt their sleep (i.e., \> 3 h between 22:00 and 05:00 h for at least 1 day/week) * Able to complete 7 days of dietary logs adequately (e.g., at least 2 entries per day, covering at least a 5-hour eating window) during the baseline period * Able to complete screening and baseline questionnaires adequately (e.g., not failing more than 1 attention check item with instructed responding; responding to standard multiple-choice items in a mean of \< 2 seconds per item). Where individuals respond to more than 14 items in a row with the same response, we will manually review for possible invalidity.

Exclusion criteria

include the following: * Current episode of depression, hypomania or mania, or psychosis (assessed by the aDiagnostic Interview for Anxiety, Mood, and Obsessive-compulsive and Related Neuropsychiatric Disorders; DIAMOND), Participants with acute mood disorder episodes will be encouraged to seek treatment and to consider the study when symptoms have remitted. * Eating disorder diagnosis (by self-report of treatment or diagnosis at any point during their life, Short Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-QS) scores above clinical concern thresholds for eating disorders, or DIAMOND interview of symptoms during adulthood) * Past 3-month alcohol use disorder or substance use disorder (assessed by DIAMOND) * Active suicidal ideation coupled with plan, intent or attempt history as assessed by Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale * Conditions that would interfere with ability to take part in the intervention , including pregnancy, breastfeeding, uncorrected hypo or hyperthyroidism, gastrointestinal conditions impairing nutrient absorption, * Medical conditions such as HIV, AIDS, lupus, or multiple sclerosis that could confound the assessment of mania or other measures * Medications contraindicated for fasting: clozapine, glucose-lowering medications, diabetes-related injections, medications requiring food early morning or late evening, corticosteroids; medications such as semaglutide will not be an

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Acceptabilityimmediately post-treatment (10 weeks after enrollment)Participant self-ratings of the acceptability of the intervention: The primary index of acceptability will be the percentage of individuals who endorse that they agree or strongly agree that they would recommend the food plan to a friend. This single item has been used in previous trials of bipolar disorder. Higher agreement will be considered a positive outcome.
Adherence to time-restricted eatingAverage number of daily food logs showing adherence across the 8-week interventionAdherence will be scored based on the time of their first and final calorie consumption each day during the 8 week intervention. The investigators will select entries from the time interval that contains 95% of intake events. Following standards in other US and European studies of TRE, the investigators will focus on days in which participants adequately logged (e.g., entered at least two intake events, covering at least a 5 hour window), and will calculate the percentage of days in which individuals met the eating window goal. High adherence will be defined as meeting this standard on at least 78% of days logged. As supplemental data, the investigators will report the percentage of days logged, and the percentage of days in which individuals logged adequately and followed the planned window.
Adherence to Mediterranean DietAverage number of food logs showing adherence at or above the median for 2 days at the mid-point of treatment (week 6) and at the end of treatment (week 10)Adherence will be scored based on a Food Frequency Questionnaire that we developed for this study. We will score this using the Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet scoring system (AMed), which provides up to 9 points based on above-median consumption of beneficial foods (e.g., fruits and vegetables) and below median consumption of "extras" such as alcohol. Higher scores reflect better adherence to the mediterranean diet.
ManiaLower YMRS at the end of intervention (10 weeks) as compared to baselineDecline in Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) total scores, completed by a blind rater
DepressionLower MADRS at the end of intervention (10 weeks) as compared to baselineDecline in Montgomery Asberg Depression Scale (MADRS) total scores, completed by a blind rater
Self-rated Quality of Life (QOL)Scores at 1.5-months post-intervention (16 weeks after study entry) as compared to baselineHigher scores on the self-rated Brief Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder (QoL.BD) at 1.5-months post intervention as compared to baseline
Mania at follow-upYMRS scores will be lower at 3, 6, 12 month post-intervention follow-ups as compared to baselineSustained lower YMRS scores across follow-up
Depression at follow-upMADRS scores will be lower at 3, 6, 12 month post-intervention follow-ups as compared to baselineSustained lower MADRS scores across follow-up
QOL at follow-upBrief QOL.BD scores will be higher at 6- and 12-month post-intervention follow-ups as compared to baselineSustained higher Brief QOL.BD scores

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Self-rated maniaat post-intervention (10 weeks) and at 1.5, 3, 6, and 12 month follow-ups post-intervention, as compared to baselineLower Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) Mania scores at post-intervention (10 weeks) and at 1.5, 3, 6, and 12 month follow-ups post-intervention
Self-rated depressionat post-intervention (10 weeks) and at 1.5, 3, 6, and 12 month follow-ups post-intervention, as compared to baselineLower Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) Depression scores at post-intervention (10 weeks) and at 1.5, 3, 6, and 12 month follow-ups post-intervention
Sleep hygiene behaviorspost-intervention (10 weeks) as compared to baselineLower scores on the Sleep Household Environment and In-Bed Behaviors at end-of-treatment (10 weeks) as compared to baseline
Weekly change in mania severityWeekly scores from the end of the intervention through one-year post-intervention follow-upLower Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation (LIFE) weekly Mania scores post-treatment as compared to those at baseline. The investigators will administer the LIFE interview at 3, 6, and 12-months after the intervention, and interviewers will record a mania severity rating for each week, to cover the time from the end of intervention until one year after the intervention ends.
Sleep disturbance and sleep impairmentpost-treatment (10 weeks) as compared to baselineLower scores on the Patient Outcomes Reporting Information System (PROMIS) sleep disturbance and sleep impairment scores at post-treatment (10 weeks) as compared to baseline
Sleep mid-point variability (Munich Chronotype Questionnaire; MCTQ)post-treatment (10 weeks) as compared to baselineMCTQ scores will show a smaller proportion of individuals with either early or delayed chronotype (as reflected in standard scoring for the MCTQ) at post-treatment as compared to baseline
Regularity of daily routines (Brief Social Rhythm Questionnaire)post-treatment (10 weeks) as compared to baselineLower Brief Social Rhythm Questionnaire scores (less irregularity) at post-treatment as compared to baseline
Daily emotional lability as assessed using ecological momentary assessmentmid-point of treatment (6 weeks post study entry) as compared to baselineLower mean square of successive difference of negative affect scores within derived from the ecological momentary assessments at the mid-point of treatment (6 weeks) as compared to baseline. Participants will be asked to complete negative affect ratings several times per day for 8 days, at the baseline and mid-point of treatment. The investigators will calculate scores to examine the degree of negative affect variability for each day, and then take the average across 8 days at baseline and at treatment mid-point.

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTSheri L Johnson, PhD
calmprogram@berkeley.edu(510) 519-4305
CONTACTNandini Rajgopal, BS
calmprogram@berkeley.edu(510) 519-4305
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORSheri L Johnson, PhD

University of California, Berkeley

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 5, 2026