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Smartphones Aggravating Anxiety Symptoms

Smartphones Aggravating Anxiety Symptoms: Experimental Study From Southeastern

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06361342
Enrollment
100
Registered
2024-04-11
Start date
2024-03-08
Completion date
2026-12-31
Last updated
2026-01-14

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

Conditions

Anxiety

Keywords

Smartphones

Brief summary

The goal of this study is to assess if excessive use of smartphone apps of social media can impact a person's mental health. The study is aimed at improving the usage of smartphones which might help improve the mental health of patients. The goal is not to discourage the use of smartphones but instead to utilize smartphones in a way that they do not impact lives.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALGeneral decrease in smartphone use

Subjects will decrease their time on smartphone in general.

BEHAVIORALAvoiding Social Media Apps

Subjects will avoid use of social media apps on the smartphone which includes Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Sponsors

Mayo Clinic
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* For patients aged 18 years or older experiencing mild symptoms of anxiety or depression and who have a GAD-7 score 5 and above. * Patient should have smart phone and should be using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, and Pinterest social media apps. * Patients should have email access.

Exclusion criteria

* Any patient who uses a smartphone for tracking glucose for diabetes management, heart rate, or any chronic illness which is being managed through a smartphone app. * Any patient who uses more than one personal smartphone * Any patient who is a suicide risk as per PHQ-9 score, current recreational drug usage, or alcohol abuse. * Any patient who has suicidal ideation as per PHQ-9 assessment before or during the study period will be excluded, (all patients will be monitored for suicidal ideation by PHQ-9 scoring method at day 1, week 6, and week 12, but it is the responsibility of the patient to inform the study team if they have developed any suicidal ideation throughout the study period). * Patients with activated POA (Power of Attorney - Healthcare), diagnosis of mental retardation or current disability due to any psychiatric disorder or severe depression with a high risk of suicide should be excluded. * Any patient currently undergoing ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) for severe depression. * Any patient taking prescribed SSRIs/SNRIs, with a change and not taking them continuously in last 30 days (not a new diagnosis of anxiety). If change they will be excluded.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in anxietyDay 1, 12 weeksMeasured using the General Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD 7) scale to assess severity of generalized anxiety disorder. Scoring is calculated by assigning scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3 to the response categories, respectively, of not at all, several days, more than half the days, and nearly every day. Total score for the seven items ranges from 0 to 21 where 0 is no anxiety, 1-4 is minimal anxiety, 5-9 is mild anxiety, 10-14 is moderate anxiety, and 15-21 is severe anxiety.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in depressionDay 1, 12 weeksMeasured using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9) scale used to assess severity of depression. Scoring is calculated by assigning scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3 to the response categories, respectively, of not at all, several days, more than half the days, and nearly every day. Total score for the seven items ranges from 0 to 27 where 0 is no depression, 1-4 is minimal depression, 5-9 is mild depression, 10-14 is moderate depression, and 15-19 is moderately severe depression and 20-27 severe depression.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026