Behavioral Insomnia Therapy for Fibromyalgia

July 18, 2014 updated by: Duke University

Behavioral Insomnia Therapy for Fibromyalgia Patients

This study tests the effectiveness of a nondrug treatment for the insomnia that often occurs in people with fibromyalgia. The treatment is a type of psychotherapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy combines cognitive therapy, which can modify or eliminate thought patterns contributing to the person's symptoms, and behavioral therapy, which aims to help the person change his or her behavior.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a prevalent and debilitating condition that contributes to impaired occupational and social functioning and increased disability among affected individuals. The vast majority of people with FM experience persistent sleep disturbances (e.g., onset difficulty, repeated or extended awakenings, nonrestorative sleep) that worsen other FM-related symptoms (e.g., chronic pain, fatigue) and sustain their general dysfunction. Pharmacologic treatments (e.g., antidepressants, hypnotics) may reduce symptoms for some people with FM, but many FM patients display little enduring improvement in their sleep and other FM-related symptoms in response to such agents.

Our clinical observations and initial pilot work suggest that factors common among other insomnia subtypes such as conditioned bedtime arousal, erratic sleep/wake scheduling, and spending too much time in bed likely perpetuate the sleep problems of these medication-refractory FM patients. Over the past decade, we have developed, refined, and repeatedly tested a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) that has proven effective for reducing sleep disturbances perpetuated by such underlying cognitive/behavioral mechanisms. The major objectives of this project are to conduct a prospective randomized clinical trial to confirm these preliminary findings and to determine the efficacy of CBT insomnia treatment for interrupting the disturbed nocturnal sleep and daytime pain, fatigue, and distress symptom complex that defines FM.

One arm of this study's three-by-four factorial design will compare CBT with both a contact control treatment and standard care. The other arm in the design is a repeated-measures factor consisting of four time points (i.e., baseline, mid-treatment, post-treatment, and 6-month follow-up periods) at which we will assess outcome. We will assess participants at all four time points with objective (wrist actigraphy) and subjective (sleep logs, Insomnia Symptom Questionnaire) measures of sleep improvements, measures of subjective pain, and questionnaires that assess mood (State-Trait Anxiety and Beck Depression Scales) and general quality of life (SF-36). We will conduct multivariate statistical analyses and tests of clinical significance with these various measures. We will also conduct exploratory analyses to determine if polysomnographically-derived sleep measures obtained prior to treatment correlate with initial levels of pain and distress or eventual treatment outcome.

Results should provide information about the usefulness of CBT for treating FM-related sleep difficulties. Results should also improve understanding of the FM syndrome in general and provide new information about the potential role of behavioral therapy in the overall management of this disorder.

Individuals interested in participating in this study should live within reasonable commuting distance from the Duke University Medical Center (Durham, NC), because this research requires multiple outpatient visits for screening and treatment.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

106

Phase

  • 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
    • North Carolina
      • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27710
        • Duke University Medical Center

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

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Insomnia for more than 1 month
  • Fibromyalgia diagnosis
  • Participants must live within easy commuting distance of Duke Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Terminal illness
  • Major psychiatric disorder
  • Substance abuse
  • Dependence on hypnotic drugs
  • Other sleep disorders (sleep apnea, restless legs, etc.)
  • Other sleep-disturbing medical disorders (painful arthritis, thyroid condition, etc.)

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: Single

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Duke University

Collaborators

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jack D. Edinger, PhD, VA Medical Center-Durham

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

July 1, 1999

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2004

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 3, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 3, 1999

First Posted (Estimate)

November 4, 1999

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

July 21, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 18, 2014

Last Verified

December 1, 2005

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Pro00008633
  • R21AR046094 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • NIAMS-039

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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