SickleFit Exercise and Nutrition Study

May 4, 2026 updated by: Duke University

The SickleFit Exercise and Nutrition Randomized Control Trial for Older Adults With Sickle Cell Disease

To goal of this study is to pilot the SickleFit exercise and nutrition intervention in adults with sickle cell disease in a randomized control trial

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

Investigators will pilot the SickleFit personalized exercise plus dietitian-facilitated nutrition intervention randomized control trial in adults (age ≥ 35 years) with sickle cell disease.

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.
40

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
    • North Carolina
      • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27710
        • Recruiting
        • Duke University
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Charity I Oyedeji, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • John J Strouse, MD PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Kathryn Starr, PhD

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of sickle cell disease (any genotype)
  • Understand and speak English by self-report
  • Age ≥ 35 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Oxygen dependence
  • Unstable cardiac disease
  • Wheelchair-bound
  • Diagnosed with severe cognitive impairment based on ICD-10 codes or reported by their outpatient provider
  • Unable to self-consent
  • Severe uncorrected visual or auditory impairment
  • Pregnant
  • Successfully treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or gene therapy for sickle cell disease

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: SickleFit arm
Participants in SickleFit arm will complete the Sickle Cell Disease Functional Assessment before and after 12 weeks of SickleFit exeercise+Nutrition intervention.
Behavioral: SickleFit Exercise plus Nutrition
SickleFit personalized exercise plus dietitian-facilitated nutrition intervention
No Intervention: Control Arm
Participants in the control arm will be on a wait list for SickleFit and will continue to receive usual care during that 12-week period. They will complete the Sickle Cell Disease Functional Assessment at baseline and after 12 weeks on the wait list. After their post-assessment, they will have the option to complete 12 weeks of SickleFit exercise+Nutrition intervention.

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
Feasibility of Randomization
Time Frame: From enrollment to the last paticipants randomized over a 2 year period
Feasibility of randomization (proportion of participants randomized out of those approached)
From enrollment to the last paticipants randomized over a 2 year period
Safety/Adverse Events
Time Frame: adverse events will be measured for both arms up to 6 months
number of life-threatening adverse events
adverse events will be measured for both arms up to 6 months
Acceptability
Time Frame: From enrollment to after completion of the SickleFit Program over 6 months since we will also measure acceptability for control group
Proportion of participants reporting satisfaction with the program
From enrollment to after completion of the SickleFit Program over 6 months since we will also measure acceptability for control group
Retention in the program
Time Frame: From the baseline Sickle Cell Disease Functional Assessment to the post-SCD-FA. Over a 30 week period since post assessments will be completed within 3 months of completion of the SickleFit program or control period.
retention (proportion of the SickleFit and control groups completing follow up assessment)
From the baseline Sickle Cell Disease Functional Assessment to the post-SCD-FA. Over a 30 week period since post assessments will be completed within 3 months of completion of the SickleFit program or control period.
Adherence
Time Frame: From the start of the first SickleFit session to the end of the SickleFit program at 12 weeks
Adherence (proportion attending ≥ 50% of classes) in the SickleFit arm
From the start of the first SickleFit session to the end of the SickleFit program at 12 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Performance on the Sickle Cell Disease Functional Assessment (SCD-FA)
Time Frame: From baseline assessment to completion of the post-assessment within 6 months
Change in physical performance and patient-reported outcomes on the Sickle Cell Disease Functional Assessment (SCD-FA)
From baseline assessment to completion of the post-assessment within 6 months

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.
Duke University

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: Charity I Oyedeji, MD, Duke University

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

  • Charity I Oyedeji, Teagan Callaway, Rania Mohamed, Reena Ravi, Richard Faldowski, Corey Vessels, Miriam C Morey, John J Strouse; The Sicklefit Exercise Program for Older Adults with Sickle Cell Disease: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Safety. Blood 2024; 144 (Supplement 1): 604. doi: https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2024-212100

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.
April 8, 2026

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.
January 1, 2028

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.
January 1, 2028

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).
February 20, 2026

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.
February 24, 2026

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.
March 2, 2026

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.
May 7, 2026

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.
May 4, 2026

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.
May 1, 2026

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.
  • Pro00118037

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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