Meal-Based Exposure and Response Prevention in Anorexia Nervosa

February 1, 2022 updated by: Johns Hopkins University

Meal-Based Exposure and Response Prevention in Anorexia Nervosa: Reducing Physiological and Self-reported Food-Related Anxiety

Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), a serious psychiatric disorder, exhibit restricted dietary intake and endorse fear of consuming calorie-dense foods, which in turn drives weight loss. Premorbid anxious personality traits and comorbid anxiety disorders are common in patients with AN. Although intensive behavioral treatment programs can achieve weight restoration in a majority of adults with AN, relapse rates are high. Predictors of relapse include elevated state anxiety and low dietary variety, including lower intake of fat, after discharge, which suggests that relapse following weight restoration may be related to inadequate fear extinction to high energy density (ED) foods during treatment and consequent resumption of restrictive eating patterns. Despite evidence of anxiety's role in the onset and maintenance of restricted eating behavior, utilizing exposure and response prevention (EX-RP) and meal-based interventions to reduce food-related fears is understudied. EX-RP is the gold standard of treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This proposal aims to test the efficacy of an adjunct meal-based EX-RP intervention to reduce food-related fears during intensive behavioral weight restoration in hospitalized patients with AN in comparison to a control treatment, Motivational Interviewing. The investigators will assess changes in a) self-reported anxiety regarding consumption of high-ED foods, b) physiological (skin conductance and heart rate variability) responses to imagined consumption of food items elicited utilizing a visual food cue task, and c) caloric intake of a challenging test meal pre- and post-treatment. A secondary aim is to assess the relationship of early treatment response to EX-RP, operationalized as a reduction in self-reported anxiety within the first three weeks of treatment, and end-of-treatment as well as six-month post-discharge outcomes. Helping patients tolerate food-related anxiety and increase dietary variety across meal contexts may augment treatment effectiveness in adult patients during intensive treatment for AN and has potential to decrease relapse rates.

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.

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.
27

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

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21287
        • Johns Hopkins 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

13 years to 65 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT, CHILD)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Meets Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) -5 criteria for AN or Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder.
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) > 14.0 kg/m2 and < 20.0 kg/m2
  • Age > 12 years, < 66 years
  • Fluency in the English language

Exclusion criteria:

  • Diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, bipolar illness (type I) with active psychotic symptoms
  • History of traumatic brain injury with current impairment in functioning
  • Current use of benzodiazepines, as these medications may alter psychophysiological assessment
  • Allergy to dairy products or chocolate contained in the test meal

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
  • Masking: NONE

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.
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Exposure and Response Prevention
Inpatients will be provided three 90-minute sessions of Exposure and Response Prevention therapy each week.
Behavioral: Exposure and Response Prevention
Exposure and Response Prevention involves collaboratively developing a list of food-related fears with the patient and planning treatment sessions in which the patient is exposed to the fear and inhibits safety behaviors. The explicit goal of these exposure sessions will be to violate the patient's expectation regarding the feared stimulus, rather than to reduce fear.
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Motivational Interviewing
Inpatients will be provided two 60-minute sessions of Motivational Interviewing each week.
Behavioral: Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing techniques including reflective listening to demonstrate empathy and understanding, asking questions to elicit change talk (speech that is "pro-change"), evaluating the decisional balance, and managing or "rolling with" resistance will be incorporated throughout the treatment sessions.

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
Change in Physiological Anxiety in Response to Food Images as assessed by Skin Conductance Response
Time Frame: Pre-treatment and post-treatment up to 10 weeks
Participants will view images of low- and high-ED foods, and of office products for 8 seconds each. Skin Conductance Response (microsiemens) will be recorded from electrodes placed on the palmar surface of the middle phalanges of the 2nd and 3rd fingers on the non-dominant hand.
Pre-treatment and post-treatment up to 10 weeks
Change in Physiological Anxiety in Response to Food Images as assessed by Heart rate variability
Time Frame: Pre-treatment and post-treatment up to 10 weeks
Participants will view images of low- and high-ED foods, and of office products for 8 seconds each. Heart rate variability will be measured using ECG electrodes placed in a diagonal axis across the heart region, with a reference electrode on the stomach.
Pre-treatment and post-treatment up to 10 weeks
Change in amount of high calorie diet consumption
Time Frame: At week 2 of treatment and at discharge, up to 10 weeks
Patients will be asked to consume a meal (1,066 kcal) consisting of calorie dense foods over a period of 45 minutes. Total caloric intake will be measured by weighing food items prior to and following the meal and identifying the proportion of the meal in kcal consumed.
At week 2 of treatment and at discharge, up to 10 weeks

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 food related anxiety as assessed by the Food Anxiety Questionnaire.
Time Frame: Weekly up to 10 weeks
Patients will complete the Food Anxiety Questionnaire, which asks patients to rate their anxiety regarding consumption of 35 frequently consumed foods, using Subjective Units of Distress. Subjective Units of Distress range from 0-100, with '0' indicating no distress or anxiety and '100' indicating the highest possible level of distress or anxiety.
Weekly up to 10 weeks
Change in food Choice Preferences as assessed by The Food Choice Task
Time Frame: Pre-treatment and post-treatment up to 10 weeks
The Food Choice Task is a computer based task that assesses preference for low- versus high-fat food items. Patients rate food items on tastiness and healthiness and are then asked to make a series of choices regarding food preferences. The proportion of high-fat food choices made is an indication of the patient's preference for low-versus high-fat foods. A higher proportion of trials on which individuals select the high-fat food is associated with an increased willingness to consume those foods.
Pre-treatment and post-treatment up to 10 weeks
Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire Scores
Time Frame: Pre-treatment and post-treatment up to 10 weeks
Patients will complete the 28-item Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, which includes four subscales: Eating Concern, Weight Concern, Restraint, and Shape Concern. Scores on these subscales range from 0 to 7, with higher scores indicative of more pathology.
Pre-treatment and post-treatment up to 10 weeks

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.
Johns Hopkins University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
The Hilda and Preston Davis Foundation

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Colleen C Schreyer, PhD, Johns Hopkins University

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.
November 1, 2018

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.
December 31, 2021

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.
December 31, 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).
November 14, 2018

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.
November 16, 2018

First Posted (ACTUAL)

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.
November 20, 2018

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.
February 2, 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.
February 1, 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.
September 1, 2021

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.
  • IRB00174855

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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