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Major Depressive DisorderPhase 4NCT01973283

Antidepressant Response in the Treatment of Depressive Symptoms and Frailty Characteristics in Older Adults

A Phase 4 study testing Antidepressant Medication in people with Major Depressive Disorder and Dysthymic Disorder, run by New York State Psychiatric Institute at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The goal of this open-administration treatment study of citalopram (or duloxetine) is to evaluate the effect of antidepressant medication on treating the syndrome of "frailty" in older adults with depressive symptoms. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 60 to 95 years
What is being tested?
Antidepressant Medication
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
100 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
19 Feb 2014to 5 Dec 2020
Phase
Phase 4
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

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 60 to 95 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Anyone with 1 or more characteristics of frailty
  • HRSD>16 and a DSM-IV depressive disorder (e.g. MDD, Dysthymia)
  • Capable of providing informed consent
  • Currently followed by a PCP (had an eval in last 6-months)

Who cannot join

  • Acute cancer treatment
  • Acute, severe or unstable medical illness
  • End stage medical illness (e.g. liver, kidney, pulmonary)
  • Mini Mental Exam < 24 or a diagnosis of dementia
  • Individuals who do not have capacity to consent
  • Diagnosis of substance abuse or dependence (last 12 months), excluding Nicotine dependence
Show all 10Show fewer
  • History of psychosis or psychotic disorder or bipolar disorder
  • Patient is considered a significant risk of suicide
  • Subject is considered based on history to be unlikely to respond to the single agent antidepressant (i.e., subjects with treatment resistant depression, including subjects with previous treatment with ECT)
  • History of allergic or adverse reaction to escitalopram or duloxetine, or non-response to adequate trial of escitalopram (at least 4 weeks at dose of 20 mg) or duloxetine (at least 4 weeks at dose of 90mg).

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • New York State Psychiatric Institute

    New York, New York, 10032

Other trials in United States

About this study

The goal of this open-administration treatment study of citalopram (or duloxetine) is to evaluate the effect of antidepressant medication on treating the syndrome of "frailty" in older adults with depressive symptoms. Patients with significant depressive symptoms (defined as CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression scale) > 10) and 1 or more symptoms of the frailty syndrome (exhaustion, decreased energy, weight loss, decreased grip strength, and slow/unsteady gait) will be evaluated and treated with citalopram (or duloxetine) for 8 weeks to test whether antidepressant medication improves both the syndrome of frailty and depressive symptoms. Patients evaluated at the Adult and Late Life Depression clinic and eligible to participate in the study will be treated with an antidepressant medication and assessed on the primary outcome variables (characteristics of frailty, depressive symptoms) as well as on secondary variables which include cognition (global cognition, episodic memory, executive function), and function (physical mobility, instrumental activities of daily living, and social functioning) prior to treatment initiation and following 8-weeks of treatment. The hypotheses for this protocol predict that we will discover a significant improvement on both frailty characteristics and depressive symptoms in this clinical population when treated with antidepressant medication (citalopram or duloxetine).

Read the detailed description

Frailty, "a syndrome of decreased resiliency and reserves", is defined by five characteristics: 1)"shrinking" (definition: unintentional weight loss of > 10 lbs in prior year, or > 5% loss of body weight in prior year at follow-up), 2) weakness (definition: grip strength in lowest 20% at baseline, adjusted for gender and BMI), 3) poor endurance/energy (definition: self-report of exhaustion on 2 items on the CES-D), 4) slowness (definition: slowest 20% on timed 4 meter or 15 foot walk, adjusted for gender and standing height), and 5) low physical activity (definition: weighted score of kilocalories expended per week as calculated from the Minnesota Leisure Time Activity questionnaire). Frailty is associated with poor prognosis including hospitalization, falls, worsening disability and mobility, and death.

Data from the Cardiovascular Health Study document the rate of comorbid depressive symptoms in frail older adults (16.2% of older adults with at least 1 frailty characteristic had a CES-D > 10, including 31% of older adults with 3 or more frailty characteristics, compared to 2.6% of nonfrail older adults) despite study exclusion of individuals who were taking an antidepressant (this is in part why we chose to include patients with a CES-D of > 10, rather than requiring a diagnosis of a depressive disorder such as major depression or dysthymia for this study). The relationship between frailty and depression however goes beyond this association; the five defining characteristics of frailty (exhaustion, decreased energy, weight loss, decreased grip strength, and slow/unsteady gait) overlap significantly with symptoms of geriatric depression (decreased energy and motivation, psychomotor slowing, weight loss, decreased participation in leisure activities).

The proposed study is innovative in that it is focuses on a group of older adults who have been unrepresented (via exclusion criteria) in previous clinical studies (frail older adults with comorbid depressive symptoms), and it treats the comorbid depressive symptoms and targets characteristics of the frailty syndrome in the hopes of altering the prognostic trajectory of this clinical sample. This protocol serves two purposes: 1. It tests the feasibility of recruiting and retaining frail older adults with depressive symptoms in a treatment trial, and 2. It provides pilot data for the effectiveness of an antidepressant medication on treating the characteristics of frailty and the comorbid depressive symptoms.

Being tested
Antidepressant Medication
Medical subject headings
Depressive Disorder, Major, Dysthymic Disorder, Depression

What participants receive

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

  • Antidepressant MedicationDrug

    Also called Escitalopram, Duloxetine, Open treatment

    If patient has a history of non-response or cannot tolerate escitalopram and/or duloxetine, then they will be treated openly with an approved antidepressant.

Study groups in NCT01973283
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Medication TreatmentExperimentalParticipants are treated with a flexible-dose antidepressant medication for a period of 8 weeks.
Receives: Drug: Antidepressant Medication

What is being measured

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

  1. Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD)

    Measure Description: Our target is depressive symptomatology as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD). The HRSD is a 24-item questionnaire used as an indication of depression and a guide to evaluating recovery. Total scores range from 0-74, not including atypical symptoms sub-scale. A score above 16 is typically considered to indicate the presence of depressive symptoms. Higher scores indicate greater severity.

    Measured: Week 8

  2. Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD)

    Measure Description: Our target is depressive symptomatology as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD). The HRSD is a 24-item questionnaire used as an indication of depression and a guide to evaluating recovery. Total scores range from 0-74, not including atypical symptoms sub-scale. A score above 16 is typically considered to indicate the presence of depressive symptoms. Higher scores indicate greater severity.

    Measured: 6 Months

  3. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HRSD)

    Measure Description: Our target is depressive symptomatology as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD). The HRSD is a 24-item questionnaire used as an indication of depression and a guide to evaluating recovery. Total scores range from 0-74, not including atypical symptoms sub-scale. A score above 16 is typically considered to indicate the presence of depressive symptoms. Higher scores indicate greater severity.

    Measured: 12 Months

  4. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale: Stratified by Baseline Frailty

    Measure Description: Our target is depressive symptomatology as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD). The HRSD is a 24-item questionnaire used as an indication of depression and a guide to evaluating recovery. Total scores range from 0-74, not including atypical symptoms sub-scale. A score above 16 is typically considered to indicate the presence of depressive symptoms. Higher scores indicate greater severity.

    Measured: Baseline (Week 0)

  5. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale: Stratified by Baseline Frailty

    Measure Description: Our target is depressive symptomatology as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD). The HRSD is a 24-item questionnaire used as an indication of depression and a guide to evaluating recovery. Total scores range from 0-74, not including atypical symptoms sub-scale. A score above 16 is typically considered to indicate the presence of depressive symptoms. Higher scores indicate greater severity.

    Measured: Week 8

  6. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale: Stratified by Baseline Frailty

    Measure Description: Our target is depressive symptomatology as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD). The HRSD is a 24-item questionnaire used as an indication of depression and a guide to evaluating recovery. Total scores range from 0-74, not including atypical symptoms sub-scale. A score above 16 is typically considered to indicate the presence of depressive symptoms. Higher scores indicate greater severity.

    Measured: Month 6

  7. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale: Stratified by Baseline Frailty

    Measure Description: Our target is depressive symptomatology as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD). The HRSD is a 24-item questionnaire used as an indication of depression and a guide to evaluating recovery. Total scores range from 0-74, not including atypical symptoms sub-scale. A score above 16 is typically considered to indicate the presence of depressive symptoms. Higher scores indicate greater severity.

    Measured: Month 12

Secondary outcomes (8)
  1. World Health Organization Disability Assessment 2.0 (36-item)

    Assesses the level of functioning of patients, a component of the frailty evaluation. The scores assigned to each of the items: "none" (0), "mild" (1) "moderate" (2), "severe" (3), and "extreme" (4) - are summed. Each of the items is simply added up without recoding or collapsing of response categories; thus, there is no weighting of individual items. As a result, the simple sum of the scores of the items across all domains constitutes a statistic that is sufficient to describe the degree of functional limitations.

    Step 1 - Summing of recoded item scores within each domain. Step 2 - Summing of all six domain scores. Step 3 - Converting the summary score into a metric ranging from 0 to 100 (where 0 = no disability; 100 = full disability).

    Measured: Baseline (Week 0)

  2. World Health Organization Disability Assessment 2.0 (36-item)

    Assesses the level of functioning of patients, a component of the frailty evaluation. Simple: the scores assigned to each of the items - "none" (0), "mild" (1) "moderate" (2), "severe" (3), and "extreme" (4) - are summed. This method is referred to as simple scoring because the scores from each of the items are simply added up without recoding or collapsing of response categories; thus, there is no weighting of individual items. This approach is practical to use as a hand-scoring approach and may be the method of choice in busy clinical settings or in paper-pencil interview situations. As a result, the simple sum of the scores of the items across all domains constitutes a statistic that is sufficient to describe the degree of functional limitations.

    Step 1 - Summing of recoded item scores within each domain. Step 2 - Summing of all six domain scores. Step 3 - Converting the summary score into a metric ranging from 0 to 100 (where 0 = no disability; 100 = full disability).

    Measured: Week 8

  3. World Health Organization Disability Assessment 2.0 (36-item)

    Assesses the level of functioning of patients, a component of the frailty evaluation. The scores assigned to each of the items: "none" (0), "mild" (1) "moderate" (2), "severe" (3), and "extreme" (4) - are summed. Each of the items is simply added up without recoding or collapsing of response categories; thus, there is no weighting of individual items. As a result, the simple sum of the scores of the items across all domains constitutes a statistic that is sufficient to describe the degree of functional limitations.

    Step 1 - Summing of recoded item scores within each domain. Step 2 - Summing of all six domain scores. Step 3 - Converting the summary score into a metric ranging from 0 to 100 (where 0 = no disability; 100 = full disability).

    Measured: 6 Months

  4. World Health Organization Disability Assessment 2.0 (36-item)

    Assesses the level of functioning of patients, a component of the frailty evaluation. The scores assigned to each of the items: "none" (0), "mild" (1) "moderate" (2), "severe" (3), and "extreme" (4) - are summed. Each of the items is simply added up without recoding or collapsing of response categories; thus, there is no weighting of individual items. As a result, the simple sum of the scores of the items across all domains constitutes a statistic that is sufficient to describe the degree of functional limitations.

    Step 1 - Summing of recoded item scores within each domain. Step 2 - Summing of all six domain scores. Step 3 - Converting the summary score into a metric ranging from 0 to 100 (where 0 = no disability; 100 = full disability).

    Measured: 12 Months

  5. World Health Organization Disability Assessment 2.0 (36-item)--Stratified by Baseline Frailty

    Assesses the level of functioning of patients, a component of the frailty evaluation. The scores assigned to each of the items: "none" (0), "mild" (1) "moderate" (2), "severe" (3), and "extreme" (4) - are summed. Each of the items is simply added up without recoding or collapsing of response categories; thus, there is no weighting of individual items. As a result, the simple sum of the scores of the items across all domains constitutes a statistic that is sufficient to describe the degree of functional limitations.

    Step 1 - Summing of recoded item scores within each domain. Step 2 - Summing of all six domain scores. Step 3 - Converting the summary score into a metric ranging from 0 to 100 (where 0 = no disability; 100 = full disability).

    Measured: Baseline (Week 0)

  6. World Health Organization Disability Assessment 2.0 (36-item)--Stratified by Baseline Frailty

    Assesses the level of functioning of patients, a component of the frailty evaluation. The scores assigned to each of the items: "none" (0), "mild" (1) "moderate" (2), "severe" (3), and "extreme" (4) - are summed. Each of the items is simply added up without recoding or collapsing of response categories; thus, there is no weighting of individual items. As a result, the simple sum of the scores of the items across all domains constitutes a statistic that is sufficient to describe the degree of functional limitations.

    Step 1 - Summing of recoded item scores within each domain. Step 2 - Summing of all six domain scores. Step 3 - Converting the summary score into a metric ranging from 0 to 100 (where 0 = no disability; 100 = full disability).

    Measured: Week 8

  7. World Health Organization Disability Assessment 2.0 (36-item)--Stratified by Baseline Frailty

    Assesses the level of functioning of patients, a component of the frailty evaluation. The scores assigned to each of the items: "none" (0), "mild" (1) "moderate" (2), "severe" (3), and "extreme" (4) - are summed. Each of the items is simply added up without recoding or collapsing of response categories; thus, there is no weighting of individual items. As a result, the simple sum of the scores of the items across all domains constitutes a statistic that is sufficient to describe the degree of functional limitations.

    Step 1 - Summing of recoded item scores within each domain. Step 2 - Summing of all six domain scores. Step 3 - Converting the summary score into a metric ranging from 0 to 100 (where 0 = no disability; 100 = full disability).

    Measured: Month 6

  8. World Health Organization Disability Assessment 2.0 (36-item)--Stratified by Baseline Frailty

    Assesses the level of functioning of patients, a component of the frailty evaluation. The scores assigned to each of the items: "none" (0), "mild" (1) "moderate" (2), "severe" (3), and "extreme" (4) - are summed. Each of the items is simply added up without recoding or collapsing of response categories; thus, there is no weighting of individual items. As a result, the simple sum of the scores of the items across all domains constitutes a statistic that is sufficient to describe the degree of functional limitations.

    Step 1 - Summing of recoded item scores within each domain. Step 2 - Summing of all six domain scores. Step 3 - Converting the summary score into a metric ranging from 0 to 100 (where 0 = no disability; 100 = full disability).

    Measured: Month 12

Timeline

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

  1. First posted31 Oct 2013 (estimated)
  2. Study start19 Feb 2014
  3. Primary completion5 Dec 2019
  4. Study completion5 Dec 2020

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 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
100 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01973283
Sponsor's protocol ID
#6470/7289R
Other IDs
K23MH099097-01A1
Status last verified
Jan 2021
First submitted
25 Oct 2013
Last updated
29 Jan 2021
Data monitoring committee
No

Publications

  • Binder EF, Yarasheski KE, Steger-May K, Sinacore DR, Brown M, Schechtman KB, Holloszy JO. Effects of progressive resistance training on body composition in frail older adults: results of a randomized, controlled trial. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2005 Nov;60(11):1425-31. doi: 10.1093/gerona/60.11.1425.

    PubMed 16339329
  • Brown M, Sinacore DR, Binder EF, Kohrt WM. Physical and performance measures for the identification of mild to moderate frailty. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2000 Jun;55(6):M350-5. doi: 10.1093/gerona/55.6.m350.

    PubMed 10843356
  • Fried LP, Tangen CM, Walston J, Newman AB, Hirsch C, Gottdiener J, Seeman T, Tracy R, Kop WJ, Burke G, McBurnie MA; Cardiovascular Health Study Collaborative Research Group. Frailty in older adults: evidence for a phenotype. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2001 Mar;56(3):M146-56. doi: 10.1093/gerona/56.3.m146.

    PubMed 11253156
  • Brown PJ, Roose SP, O'Boyle KR, Ciarleglio A, Maas B, Igwe KC, Chung S, Gomez S, Naqvi M, Brickman AM, Rutherford BR. Frailty and Its Correlates in Adults With Late Life Depression. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2020 Feb;28(2):145-154. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2019.10.005. Epub 2019 Oct 14.

    PubMed 31734083
  • Brown PJ, Ciarleglio A, Roose SP, Garcia CM, Chung S, Alvarez J, Stein A, Gomez S, Rutherford BR. Frailty Worsens Antidepressant Treatment Outcomes in Late Life Depression. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2021 Sep;29(9):944-955. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2020.12.024. Epub 2020 Dec 25.

    PubMed 33388223

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 4 study testing Antidepressant Medication in people with Major Depressive Disorder and Dysthymic Disorder, run by New York State Psychiatric Institute at 1 site in United States.

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 4 inclusion and 10 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: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 29 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 United States. 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. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 4 studies take place after a treatment is approved, to learn more about its long-term benefits and risks in everyday use.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 13 Jan 2021). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

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

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) (time frame: Week 8). The study lists 7 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 NCT01973283, 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 29 Jan 2021.

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