Effects of Blue-enriched White Light Therapy in Patients with Fibromyalgia

February 20, 2025 updated by: Pei-Shan, Tsai, Taipei Medical University

Effects of Blue-enriched White Light Therapy on Sleep Quality, Depression, Psychomotor Vigilance, and Symptom Severity in Patients with Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition with an unclear etiology. The syndrome includes symptoms such as chronic musculoskeletal pain, cognitive dysfunctions, fatigue, sleep disorders, and circadian rhythm disturbances. Fibromyalgia-related pain is associated with a substantial socioeconomic burden including greater health care costs and productivity loss from work. Light therapy can improve sleep quality and sleep architecture, advance sleep phases and reduce pain sensitivity and that the effect of light therapy on mood and cognitive function have been widely supported.This randomized controlled study aims to examine the effects of light therapy on sleep quality, depressive symptoms, psychomotor vigilance performance, and overall symptom severity in patients with fibromyalgia.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Enrolling by invitation

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

Fibromyalgia is a central sensitivity syndrome characterized by chronic widespread pain, cognitive dysfunctions, fatigue, sleep disorders, and circadian dysregulation. Light therapy can improve sleep quality and sleep architecture, advance sleep phases and reduce pain sensitivity and that the effect of light therapy on mood and cognitive function have been widely supported, research into the effect of light therapy for patients with fibromyalgia who often suffer from sleep and mood disturbance, pain, and cognitive impairments is of both research interest and therapeutic implications. This study will use a randomized, parallel group, assessor-blind, waiting-list controlled trial design. The primary outcome is symptom severity. The secondary outcomes include: sleep quality; depressive symptoms; psychomotor vigilance and attention; and sleep phase changes. The intervention will take 8 weeks with 30 minutes exposure at awakening to blue-enriched white light. A total of 80 participants, aged 20 to 64, with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia will be enrolled and randomly assigned into one of the two parallel groups: an intervention and a waiting list group. For the intervention group, outcomes will be assessed at baseline, immediately after, and 2 months after the 8-week intervention period. For the waiting list group, outcomes will be assessed at baseline, immediately after the 8-week waiting period, and 2 months after the intervention period.

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 (Estimated)

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.
80

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

  • Taiwan
      • Taipei, Taiwan
        • Bio-Behavior Research Laboratory

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

20 years to 64 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Participants must be aged from 20 to 64 years old.
  2. Participants must read and understand Chinese language.
  3. Participants must be outpatients.
  4. Participants must have a confirmed diagnosis of fibromyalgia according to the 2016 American College of Rheumatology diagnostic criteria.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Subjects who are admitted to the hospital.
  2. Subjects who have other significant chronic disease, past or present psychosis, or bipolar disorder.
  3. Subjects who have ophthalmic pathology (cataract, macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa), eye surgery, diseases affecting the retina (retinopathy, diabetes, herpes, etc.), color blind, or taking photosensitizing medications.
  4. Subjects who are taking opiates or benzodiazepines.
  5. Subjects who work night shifts, or travel across more than two time zones in the month prior to enrolling in the study.
  6. Subjects who are pregnant.
  7. Subjects who have used light treatment in the last 6 months.

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: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

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: Light therapy group
The intervention will take 8 weeks with 30 minutes exposure at awakening to blue-enriched white light.
Other: light therapy
The intervention will take 8 weeks with 30 minutes exposure at awakening to blue-enriched white light.
No Intervention: Waiting list group
Participants who are randomly assigned into the waiting list group will be told that they are on a waiting list to be enrolled in the study. Participants will be provided with light therapy after the first posttest outcome assessments are completed.

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
Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised Version
Time Frame: Baseline
Fibromyalgia symptom severity will be measured using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised Version (FIQR) .The FIQR contains a total of 21 individual questions in three domains: function, impact and symptom domains. All questions are based on an 11-point numeric rating scale of 0 to 10, with '0' representing 'no difficulty' and '10' representing 'worst'.
Baseline
Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised Version
Time Frame: Immediately after the 8-week intervention period
Fibromyalgia symptom severity will be measured using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised Version (FIQR) .The FIQR contains a total of 21 individual questions in three domains: function, impact and symptom domains. All questions are based on an 11-point numeric rating scale of 0 to 10, with '0' representing 'no difficulty' and '10' representing 'worst'.
Immediately after the 8-week intervention period
Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised Version
Time Frame: 2 months after the 8-week intervention period
Fibromyalgia symptom severity will be measured using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised Version (FIQR) .The FIQR contains a total of 21 individual questions in three domains: function, impact and symptom domains. All questions are based on an 11-point numeric rating scale of 0 to 10, with '0' representing 'no difficulty' and '10' representing 'worst'.
2 months after the 8-week intervention period

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
Sleep quality
Time Frame: Baseline
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is a self-administered questionnaire that assesses sleep quality over a 1-month time interval. The seven components include subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, total sleep time, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disorders, use of sleep medications, and daytime dysfunction. All questions are scored on a 0-3 interval scale. The global PSQI score is then calculated by totaling the seven component scores, providing an overall score ranging from 0 to 21, where higher scores denote a poorer sleep quality.
Baseline
Sleep quality
Time Frame: Immediately after the 8-week intervention period
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is a self-administered questionnaire that assesses sleep quality over a 1-month time interval. The seven components include subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, total sleep time, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disorders, use of sleep medications, and daytime dysfunction. All questions are scored on a 0-3 interval scale. The global PSQI score is then calculated by totaling the seven component scores, providing an overall score ranging from 0 to 21, where higher scores denote a poorer sleep quality.
Immediately after the 8-week intervention period
Sleep quality
Time Frame: 2 months after the 8-week intervention period
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is a self-administered questionnaire that assesses sleep quality over a 1-month time interval. The seven components include subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, total sleep time, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disorders, use of sleep medications, and daytime dysfunction. All questions are scored on a 0-3 interval scale. The global PSQI score is then calculated by totaling the seven component scores, providing an overall score ranging from 0 to 21, where higher scores denote a poorer sleep quality.
2 months after the 8-week intervention period
Depressive symptoms
Time Frame: Baseline
The Beck Depression Inventory Version 2 (BDI-II) is a self-report 21-item questionnaire in which responses are rated on a 0 to 3 interval scale, with a higher score denoting mire frequent symptoms. The possible score of BDI-II ranges from 0 to 63, with higher scores representing more sever ratings of depression.
Baseline
Depressive symptoms
Time Frame: Immediately after the 8-week intervention period
The Beck Depression Inventory Version 2 (BDI-II) is a self-report 21-item questionnaire in which responses are rated on a 0 to 3 interval scale, with a higher score denoting mire frequent symptoms. The possible score of BDI-II ranges from 0 to 63, with higher scores representing more sever ratings of depression.
Immediately after the 8-week intervention period
Depressive symptoms
Time Frame: 2 months after the 8-week intervention period
The Beck Depression Inventory Version 2 (BDI-II) is a self-report 21-item questionnaire in which responses are rated on a 0 to 3 interval scale, with a higher score denoting mire frequent symptoms. The possible score of BDI-II ranges from 0 to 63, with higher scores representing more sever ratings of depression.
2 months after the 8-week intervention period
Psychomotor vigilance and attention
Time Frame: Baseline
Psychomotor vigilance and attention will be measured using the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT). The visual stimulus and performance feedback are presented on the device.
Baseline
Psychomotor vigilance and attention
Time Frame: Immediately after the 8-week intervention period
Psychomotor vigilance and attention will be measured using the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT). The visual stimulus and performance feedback are presented on the device.
Immediately after the 8-week intervention period
Psychomotor vigilance and attention
Time Frame: 2 months after the 8-week intervention period
Psychomotor vigilance and attention will be measured using the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT). The visual stimulus and performance feedback are presented on the device.
2 months after the 8-week intervention period
Sleep phase assessment
Time Frame: Baseline
The Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) is used to estimate phase preferences in circadian rhythms based on participants' self-descriptions. timing. Questions evaluate the time that individuals get up and go to bed, self-reported preferred times for physical and mental activity, and also the individual's subjective alertness. MEQ scores can range from 16 to 86, with lower scores indicating eveningness or later circadian timing, and higher scores indicating morningness or earlier circadian timing.
Baseline
Sleep phase assessment
Time Frame: Immediately after the 8-week intervention period
The Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) is used to estimate phase preferences in circadian rhythms based on participants' self-descriptions. timing. Questions evaluate the time that individuals get up and go to bed, self-reported preferred times for physical and mental activity, and also the individual's subjective alertness. MEQ scores can range from 16 to 86, with lower scores indicating eveningness or later circadian timing, and higher scores indicating morningness or earlier circadian timing.
Immediately after the 8-week intervention period
Sleep phase assessment
Time Frame: 2 months after the 8-week intervention period
The Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) is used to estimate phase preferences in circadian rhythms based on participants' self-descriptions. timing. Questions evaluate the time that individuals get up and go to bed, self-reported preferred times for physical and mental activity, and also the individual's subjective alertness. MEQ scores can range from 16 to 86, with lower scores indicating eveningness or later circadian timing, and higher scores indicating morningness or earlier circadian timing.
2 months after the 8-week intervention period

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.
Taipei Medical 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.
Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan

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.
  • Study Chair: Pei-Shan Tsai, PhD, Taipei Medical 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.
May 22, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
October 31, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
October 31, 2025

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).
August 6, 2020

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.
August 6, 2020

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.
August 7, 2020

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.
March 25, 2025

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 20, 2025

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.
November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • N202003152

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

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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