Dietary Intervention to Mitigate Adverse Consequences of Night Work

November 28, 2025 updated by: Frank AJL Scheer, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital

The goal of this clinical trial is to test whether our dietary intervention can prevent or lessen the negative health effects of night shift work in healthy participants.

Participants will:

  • complete 2 inpatient stays
  • be provided with identical meals
  • have frequent blood draws
  • provide urine, saliva, stool and rectal swab samples

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

Shift work increases the risk for diabetes possibly due to the adverse metabolic effects of circadian misalignment. As shift work is not foreseen to disappear, the development of individually-targeted therapies for metabolic health in these vulnerable shift workers is urgently needed. This research will determine whether our dietary intervention can mitigate the adverse metabolic effects of circadian misalignment, which may help in the design of evidence-based dietary interventions to improve the metabolic health in shift workers.

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.
24

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Recruiting
        • Brigham and Women's Hospital
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Frank Scheer, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Han-Chow Koh, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Jingyi Qian, PhD
        • Contact:
          • Han-Chow Koh, PhD
          • Phone Number: 6172780924

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

18 years to 45 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18-45 yr old
  • BMI 20.0-29.9
  • European/Hispanic/African-American ancestry
  • No acute, chronic or debilitating medical conditions (e.g. metabolic, cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, cancers, etc.)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Currently smoking/vaping or 5 or more years of smoking/vaping
  • History of drug or alcohol dependency
  • History of psychiatric illness or disorder

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: Basic Science
  • 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: Control-Dietary Intervention
Control condition first, then the Dietary intervention. Since this is a single blind study, the details of the dietary interventions cannot be released during recruitment stage but will be made public once enrollment closes.
Behavioral: dietary intervention
Research participants will be assigned to two dietary conditions.
Experimental: Dietary intervention-Control
Dietary intervention first, then the Control condition. Since this is a single blind study, the details of the dietary interventions cannot be released during recruitment stage but will be made public once enrollment closes.
Behavioral: dietary intervention
Research participants will be assigned to two dietary conditions.

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 glucose tolerance from Baseline to Test Day
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 4)
Change in incremental glucose area under the curve (AUC) from a mixed meal test.
Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 4)
Changes in microbial community structure/composition/function of oral and gut microbiome from Baseline to Test Day
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 4)
Shotgun metagenomics sequencing or 16S rRNA sequencing of saliva, stool, and rectal swab samples will provide in-depth interrogation of the microbial community structure, composition, and function.
Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 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 insulin sensitivity (Oral Minimal Model method) from Baseline to Test Day
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 4)
Oral Minimal Model method estimates insulin sensitivity based on blood glucose and insulin levels from a mixed meal test.
Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 4)
Change in levels of serum markers of gut microbiota from Baseline to Test Day
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 4)
Levels of markers of gut microbiota (e.g. short chain fatty acids) will be measured in serum samples taken 3-hourly over 24 hr.
Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 4)
Change in levels of serum markers of intestinal barrier integrity from Baseline to Test Day
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 4)
Levels of markers of intestinal barrier integrity (e.g. zonulin, LPS, LBP) will be measured in serum samples taken 3-hourly over 24 hr.
Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 4)
Change in level of serum markers of inflammatory state from Baseline to Test Day
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 4)
Levels of markers of inflammatory state (e.g., cytokines) will be measured in serum samples taken 3-hourly over 24 hr.
Baseline (Day 2) and Test Day (Day 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.
Brigham and Women's Hospital

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.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

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: Frank Scheer, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital

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.
March 29, 2023

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.
September 1, 2026

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.
September 1, 2026

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).
April 23, 2021

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.
April 27, 2021

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.
May 3, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
December 5, 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.
November 28, 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, 2025

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.
  • 2021P000683
  • R01HL153969 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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