Depression and Diabetes Control Trial (DDCT)

This randomised controlled trial evaluates a cognitive-behavioural intervention for diabetes patients with suboptimal glycaemic control and comorbid depressive symptoms and/or diabetes distress. The main outcome is the improvement of suboptimal glycaemic control (HbA1c). Secondary outcomes are effects on depressive symptoms, diabetes distress, self-care behaviour, diabetes acceptance and quality of life. The treatment group will be treated with a cognitive-behavioural group treatment comprising specific interventions to improve glycaemic control and reduce diabetes distress as well as depressive symptoms. The control group will receive treatment-as-usual. A total of 212 study participants will be included. A secondary study objective is to analyse associations of suboptimal glycaemic control, depressive symptoms and diabetes distress with inflammatory markers.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Depression; Diabetes Mellitus; Diabetes Complications; Depressive Symptoms; Emotional Distress; Affective Disorders
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Diabetes-related affective problems analysis; Behavioral: Goal setting towards improvement of glycaemic control; Behavioral: Diabetes-specific problem-solving therapy; Behavioral: Interventions to increase diabetes treatment motivation; Behavioral: Activation of personal and social resources; Behavioral: Reduction of barriers to self-care/glycaemic control; Behavioral: Cognitive restructuring of diabetes-related problems; Behavioral: Goal definition regarding self-care/glycaemia/well-being; Behavioral: Health care and specific topics (e. g. blood pressure); Behavioral: Healthy foods, cooking recommendations, recipes; Behavioral: Sports, activities and exercise; Behavioral: Foot care: exercises, care & control, injuries, neuropathy; Behavioral: Diabetes complications; Behavioral: Social aspects of living with diabetes

Detailed Description

Suboptimal glycaemic control is an established risk factor for the development of serious long-term complications of diabetes. Moreover, it is associated with elevated risks of significant hyperglycaemic acute events such as hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state or diabetic ketoacidosis. Hence, patients with diabetes and persistent suboptimal glycaemic control are at higher risk of having a rather poor prognosis.

Besides physiological and medical factors, psychological problems have been found to predict suboptimal glycaemic control. A number of studies found depressive symptoms to be independently associated with hyperglycaemia. Others focussed on diabetes-specific affective problems - the so called diabetes distress - and suggested this factor to be of great importance. Finally, some studies found that depressive symptoms and diabetes distress may interact, with the coocurrence of these factors being associated with the highest risk or suboptimal glycaemic control. The results correspond to other findings suggesting that both depressive symptoms and diabetes distress are often associated with reduced diabetes self-care, which can explain the associations of those factors with hyperglycaemia.

On the other hand, suboptimal glycaemic control could also be an explanation for affective problems - either mediated by physiological mechanisms or psychological ones, e.g. dissatisfaction or guilt. Hence, it is valid to assume that the link between depressive symptoms and/or diabetes distress may be bidirectional - although evidence to support this assumption is missing.

Following this evidence and background, the investigators designed the a to analyse the relationships between suboptimal glycaemic control, depressive symptoms and diabetes distress in diabetes using a prospective study design. The study is a randomized trial in which a cognitive-behavioural group treatment is compared to a treatment-as-usual condition (standard diabetes education) regarding their efficacy in improving suboptimal glycaemic control. 212 diabetes patients with suboptimal glycaemic control (HbA1c value > 7.5%) and elevated depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depressions Scale score ≥ 16) and/or elevated diabetes distress (Problem Areas In Diabetes Scale score ≥ 40) will be randomly assigned to either the treatment group or treatment-as-usual. The primary outcome is the improvement of suboptimal glycaemic control (reduction of HbA1c) in the 12-month follow-up. As secondary outcomes positive baseline-to-follow up changes regarding depressive symptoms, diabetes distress, diabetes self-care behaviour, diabetes acceptance and quality of life are assessed.

A second study objective is to analyse cross-sectional and prospective associations of suboptimal glycaemic control, depressive symptoms and diabetes distress with serum levels of the following inflammatory markers: hsCRP, IL-6, IL-18, IL-1Ra, MCP-1 and Adiponectin. Potential effects of the treatment groups on these markers will also be examined.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 213
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • BW
    • Bad Mergentheim, BW, Germany, 97980
      • Diabetes Center Mergentheim
  • Baden-Württemberg
    • Bad Mergentheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, 97980
      • Forschungsinstitut der Diabetes Akademie Mergentheim e. V.

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age between 18 and 70
• Diabetes mellitus type 1 or type 2
• Diabetes duration ≥ 1 year
• Suboptimal glycaemic control (HbA1c > 7,5%)
• Elevated depressive symptoms (CES-D score ≥ 16) and/or elevated diabetes distress (PAID score ≥ 40)
• Sufficient language skills
• Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe major depressive disorder according to ICD-10
• Current psychiatric and/or psychotherapeutic treatment
• Current antidepressive medical treatment
• Suicidal ideation
• Acute mental disorder of the following type: schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, severe eating disorder (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa), substance use disorder
• History of personality disorder
• Severe somatic illnesses: dialysis-dependent nephropathy, acute cancer, severe heart disease (NYHA III - IV), severe neurologic illness (e. g. MS, dementia), severe autoimmune disease
• Terminal illness
• Bedriddenness
• Guardianship

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cognitive-behavioural group treatment; Five group sessions of diabetes-Specific cognitive-behavioural group treatment for diabetes patients with depressive symptoms and/or diabetes distress and suboptimal glycaemic control. Interventions: Diabetes-related affective problems analysis; Goal setting towards improvement of glycaemic control; Diabetes-specific problem-solving therapy; Interventions to increase diabetes treatment motivation; Activation of personal and social resources; Reduction of barriers to self-care/glycaemic control; Cognitive restructuring of diabetes-related problems; Goal definition regarding self-care/glycaemia/well-being	Behavioral: Diabetes-related affective problems analysis; Analysis of diabetes-related affective problems with regard to suboptimal glycaemic control; Behavioral: Goal setting towards improvement of glycaemic control; Discussing and setting goals regarding improvements of suboptimal glycaemic control, depressive symptoms and diabetes distress; Behavioral: Diabetes-specific problem-solving therapy; Diabetes-specific problem-solving therapy with main focus on suboptimal glycaemic control, depressive symptoms and diabetes distress; Behavioral: Interventions to increase diabetes treatment motivation; Interventions to increase diabetes treatment motivation in order to achieve improvements of glycaemic control as well as recovery from affective problems; Behavioral: Activation of personal and social resources; Activation of personal and social resources with a view to diabetes control and affective problems; Behavioral: Reduction of barriers to self-care/glycaemic control; Definition and reduction of barriers to adequate diabetes self-care behaviour as well as good glycaemic control; Behavioral: Cognitive restructuring of diabetes-related problems; Cognitive restructuring of diabetes-related problems such as suboptimal glycaemic control and diabetes-related affective problems; Behavioral: Goal definition regarding self-care/glycaemia/well-being; Goal definition and agreement regarding diabetes self-care behaviour, optimal glycaemic control and activities supporting well-being and recovery from affective symptoms
Active Comparator: Treatment-as-usual; Standard diabetes education. Interventions: Health care and specific topics (e. g. blood pressure); Healthy foods, cooking recommendations, recipes; Sports, activities and exercise; Foot care: exercises, care & control, injuries, neuropathy; Diabetes complications; Social aspects of living with diabetes	Behavioral: Health care and specific topics (e. g. blood pressure); Education on health care and specific topics (e. g. blood pressure); Behavioral: Healthy foods, cooking recommendations, recipes; Education on healthy and unhealthy foods, cooking and recipes; Behavioral: Sports, activities and exercise; Education on sports, activities and exercise; Behavioral: Foot care: exercises, care & control, injuries, neuropathy; Education on foot care: exercises, care and control, injuries, and diabetic neuropathy; Behavioral: Diabetes complications; Education on diabetes complications; Behavioral: Social aspects of living with diabetes; Education on social aspects of living with diabetes

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Improvement of glycaemic control as measured by the HbA1c	Mean difference between HbA1c values at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Improvement of glycaemic control as measured by participants' blood glucose meter or glucose monitoring devices (data are extracted from tools using the diasend application)	Mean difference between average glucose test scores during an 8-week period before baseline and those during an 8-week period before 12 month follow	12 months
Improvement of depressive symptoms as measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)	Mean difference between CES-D scores at baseline and at 12 month follow up	12 months
Improvement of depressive symptoms as measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire Module for Depression (PHQ-9)	Mean difference between PHQ-9 scores at baseline and at 12 month follow up	12 months
IImprovement of diabetes distress as measured with the Problem Areas in Diabetes Scale (PAID)	Mean difference between PAID scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months
IImprovement of diabetes distress as measured with the Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS)	Mean difference between DDS scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months
Improvement of self-care behaviour as measured with the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Measure (SDSCA)	Mean difference between SDSCA scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months
Improvement of self-care behaviour as measured with the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ)	Mean difference between DSMQ scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months
Improvement of diabetes acceptance as measured with the Diabetes Acceptance Scale (DAS)	Mean difference between DAS scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months
Improvement of quality of life as measured with the EuroQol Five-Dimensions Questionnaire (EQ-5D)	Mean difference between EQ-5D scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months
Improvement of quality of life as measured with the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36)	Mean difference between SF-36 scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Inflammatory Marker: hsCRP	Mean difference between hsCRP scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months
Inflammatory Marker: IL-6	Mean difference between IL-6 scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months
Inflammatory Marker: IL-18	Mean difference between IL-18 scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months
Inflammatory Marker: IL-1Ra	Mean difference between IL-1Ra scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months
Inflammatory Marker: MCP-1	Mean difference between MCP-1 scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months
Inflammatory Marker: Adiponectin	Mean difference between Adiponectin scores at baseline and at 12 month follow	12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Forschungsinstitut der Diabetes Akademie Mergentheim
• Collaborators: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research; Helmholtz Zentrum München; German Diabetes Center; German Center for Diabetes Research
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Thomas Haak, Prof., MD, Diabetes Center Mergentheim

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 31, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): June 30, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 2, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 4, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): February 5, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 28, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 27, 2018
• Last Verified: August 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Hyperglycaemia; Quality of Life; Inflammatory markers; Diabetes mellitus; Dysglycaemia; Glycaemic control; Low-grade inflammation; Depressive symptoms; Diabetes distress; Self-care behaviour; Diabetes complications; Stress reactivity; Affective disorders; Diabetes acceptance; Health-care costs
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Mental Disorders; Glucose Metabolism Disorders; Metabolic Diseases; Endocrine System Diseases; Depression; Depressive Disorder; Diabetes Mellitus; Mood Disorders; Diabetes Complications
• Other Study ID Numbers: FKZ 82DZD01101

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO