Examining the Efficacy of the Anxiety Meter for Recognition and Management of Anxiety Signs in Autism Spectrum Disorder

January 18, 2022 updated by: Azadeh Kushki, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
The purpose of the study is to determine if a new device, called the Anxiety Meter, improves recognition and management of psychological arousal associated with anxiety in children with ASD.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Anxiety is a prevalent, persistent, and disabling co-morbidity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In addition to its profound negative impact on physical and mental health, anxiety interacts with the core deficits of ASD to exacerbate symptomatology and increase functional impairment. Anxiety treatments efficacious in non-ASD children (e.g., Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)) often have reduced potency and limited applicability in the ASD population due to impairments in cognitive ability, communication, emotional awareness, and introspection. Despite the urgency to treat co-morbid anxiety in ASD, there is limited evidence supporting treatment programs in higher-functioning individuals, and no evidence for those who are lower-functioning. In light of the urgent need for treatment of co-morbid anxiety in ASD and the paucity of evidence in this area, the investigators propose a study to establish early evidence on a technology-supported treatment of anxiety in children with ASD. This approach aims to reduce ASD-related barriers to treatment (e.g., deficits in emotional awareness and introspection) by providing children with a visual, real time display of their arousal level.

The proposed treatment focuses on the physiological arousal associated with anxiety. In particular, the investigators propose to use a physiological indicator of anxiety that can objectively measure and promote awareness of physiological arousal. To this end, the investigators have developed the Anxiety Meter, a device that measures arousal-related increases in heart rate using non-invasive wearable sensors and translates these to a visual display of the child's arousal level on a tablet computer. The investigators research questions are:

  1. Primary: Does the Anxiety Meter improve awareness and management of physiological arousal induced by anxiogenic stimuli in a controlled setting? Hypothesis: The Anxiety Meter will improve awareness and management of symptoms because it promotes awareness of arousal - a skill which is impaired in ASD.
  2. Secondary: What demographic and cognitive and behavioural variables predict response to the Anxiety Meter? Hypothesis: Age, IQ, sex, and severity of anxiety symptoms at baseline will affect treatment response.

To investigate the above questions, the investigators propose a randomized controlled trial comparing the Anxiety Meter to a control condition in children with ASD. Both the treatment and control groups will be taught a relaxation technique (three training sessions) and will be asked to apply the technique in a controlled anxiety-inducing task (one testing session). During the testing session, participants will be seated in front of a computer screen and will complete five tasks:

  1. Baseline (30 minutes): After completing the STAI, participants will watch an animated movie clip. This task has been used successfully as a "baseline activity" in our previous studies in the target population.
  2. Anxiety condition 1 (3 minutes): In this task, participants will be given 3 minutes to prepare a 3-minute talk. They will be told that the talk will be delivered to an audience of 3 strangers.
  3. Intervention (2 minutes): Both groups will use this time to reflect on their anxiety level and apply the relaxation technique if they feel anxious. The treatment group will receive a real-time display of physiological arousal on the Anxiety Meter, whereas the control group will not receive feedback from the device. Our previous studies indicate that five minutes is sufficient for the heart rate to return to baseline. Both groups will complete the STAI (attached) as a report of their anxiety levels before and after the task.
  4. Anxiety condition 2 (3 minutes): Participants will deliver a 3-minute talk to an audience of 3 strangers.
  5. Return-to-baseline (15 minutes): Participants will watch an animated movie clip.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
41

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4G1R8
        • Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

8 years to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Children 8-18 years of age.
  2. Primary diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5).
  3. Full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) >50.
  4. Must be able to complete tasks and the relaxation technique. A participant will be deemed able to do the public speaking task if he/she is able to complete Modules 3 or 4 of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) protocol.
  5. Must show physiological arousal in response to anxiety-inducing stimulus (minimum 2 beats/minute increase in heart rate).

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Started other treatments within four weeks at the time of the study.
  2. Completed Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the past.
  3. Using beta-blockers.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Anxiety Meter
The Anxiety Meter (experimental) group will receive a real-time display of physiological arousal on the Anxiety Meter during the intervention period in visit #4.
Device: Anxiety Meter
This is a new device developed to measure changes in heart rate and translate these into a visual display of arousal level in children with autism spectrum disorder.
No Intervention: No Anxiety Meter
The control group will have the Anxiety Meter during the intervention period, but the marker will not move.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion of responders
Time Frame: Week 4
We hypothesize that the proposed intervention will improve the recognition of arousal signs. To examine this hypothesis, our primary outcome measure is the proportion of participants initiating diaphragmatic breathing during the intervention period.
Week 4

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in heart rate
Time Frame: Week 4
We also hypothesis that the intervention will improving the potency of the relaxation technique through enhancing the participant's ability to sustain the breathing until relaxation is achieved. To examine this hypothesis, we will examine the difference in average heart rate between the anxiety (public speaking preparation) and post-intervention periods (public speaking delivery). Heart rate will be obtained from an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor from Shimmer Research.
Week 4
Change in self-reported anxiety level
Time Frame: Week 4
To further examine the hypothesis that the intervention improves symptom management, change in self-reported anxiety level measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory will be examined.The change will be measured between reports obtained before and after the intervention period.
Week 4

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
November 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 5, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 10, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 11, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 19, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 18, 2022

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • ANXMT_RCT1

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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