Safety of Anti-Depressant for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (SAD-COPD) (SAD-COPD)

Safety of Anti-Depressant for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Objective: Determine whether treatment of perceived stress, anxiety, and depression with anti-depressant therapy improves dyspnea scores, 6-minute walk (6MW) distance and quality of life (QoL) in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and ILD (Interstitial Lung Disease) undergoing pulmonary rehab.

The study is a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study to assess the effect of an SSRI on 6MW, dyspnea scores, and QoL in COPD and ILD patients undergoing pulmonary rehab. Thirty subjects that carry an ICD-9 code diagnosis of COPD and/or ILD and CES-D (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression) score of > 16 will be recruited from Duke Pulmonary Rehab.

Multivariable regression models will be constructed to evaluate the relationship between perceived stress, anxiety, and depression with adjustments by race, gender, age, BMI and GOLD score. A multivariable regression model will be constructed to assess whether treatment of perceived stress, depression, and anxiety with antidepressant therapy (sertraline) is an effect modifier on 6MW distance and dyspnea scores in patients with COPD or ILD who are enrolled in pulmonary rehab.

Descriptive statistics will be used to examine the socio-demographic characteristic data. Student t-tests will be performed to assess group differences in continuous data. Categorical variables will be examined using the Pearson's Chi-Squared test.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Depression; Stress; Anxiety; Interstitial Lung Disease; COPD
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Placebo; Drug: Sertraline

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 13
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • North Carolina
    • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27705
      • Duke Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 40 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female with an ICD-9 code diagnosis of COPD and/or ILD
• Mild, moderate, or severe major depression symptoms based on Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) score > 16.
• Able to complete informed consent†
• Read and write in English

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current treatment with antidepressants
• Current treatment with anti-psychotics
• Severe physical disability that would interfere with lung assessment
• History of major psychiatric illness, including bipolar disorder, psychoses, and/or severe personality disorder.
• Active suicidal ideations
• Serious cognitive problems (dementia syndrome) or cognitive impairment defined as MMSE < 22
• Recent loss of spouse within 6 weeks of study enrollment.
• History of alcohol or drug dependence in the last 6 months.
• Pregnant women or nursing mothers
• Poorly controlled concomitant conditions that pose additional procedure risk as determined by the investigator.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Pulmonary Rehab + Study Drug; Subjects randomized into this arm will be given active study drug (sertraline). Subjects will take 25mg tablets by mouth daily starting at visit 1 along with participating in the intensive pulmonary rehab program. Subjects will be assessed at one week intervals +/- 7 days for tolerability and side effects, and if tolerating study drug, the dose will be increased weekly by 25mg over the course of the first four weeks with maximum effective dose of 100mg daily by the end of week four. Subjects will continue this dose over the course of the remaining 8 weeks of the study, while participating in the graduate program of pulmonary rehab.	Drug: Sertraline
Placebo Comparator: Pulmonary Rehab + Placebo; Subjects randomized to the placebo arm will have the same procedures as described above in the study drug arm with the exception that they will be receiving matched placebo drug.	Drug: Placebo

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in 6MW Distance	Patients will undergo 6-minute walk at visit 1(baseline), visit 4 (after one month of study drug + intensive pulmonary rehab), and visit 6 (week 12).	visit 1(baseline), visit 4 (after one month of study drug + intensive pulmonary rehab), and visit 6 (week 12).
Change in Dyspnea Scores, as Measured by UCSD Medical Center Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program Shortness of Breath Questionnaire (UCSD-SOB)	To monitor changes in dyspnea scores, patients will complete the UCSD Medical Center Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program Shortness of Breath Questionnaire (UCSD-SOB). Participants will complete this at all visits (1-6). The UCSD is a 24-item questionnaire that asks participants to rate themselves from 0 ("Not at all") to 5 ("Maximally or unable to do because of breathlessness"). Scores range from 0-120, with higher scores indicating greater dyspnea.	visit 1(baseline), visit 4 (week 4), visit 6 (week 12)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Quality of Life, as Measured by Ferrans & Powers Quality of Life Index - Pulmonary Version (QOL)	To monitor changes in quality of life, patients will complete the Ferrans & Powers Quality of Life Index - Pulmonary version (QOL). Scores range from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating a higher quality of life.	visit 1(baseline), visit 4 (after one month of study drug + intensive pulmonary rehab), and visit 6 (week 12).
Change in Perceived Stress, as Measured by General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12)	To monitor changes in perceived stress, patients will complete the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Scores range from 0 to 36, with higher scores indicating greater distress.	visit 1(baseline), visit 4 (after one month of study drug + intensive pulmonary rehab), and visit 6 (week 12).
Change in Anxiety, as Measured by Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)	Scores on the HADS range from 0-21, with higher scores indicating more severe of symptoms.	visit 1(baseline), visit 4 (after one month of study drug + intensive pulmonary rehab), and visit 6 (week 12).
Change in Anxiety, as Measured by the Anxiety Inventory for Respiratory Disease (AIR) Questionnaire	Scores on the Anxiety Inventory for Respiratory Disease (AIR) range from 0-30, with higher scores indicating more symptoms.	visit 1(baseline), visit 4 (after one month of study drug + intensive pulmonary rehab), and visit 6 (week 12).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Duke University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Anne Mathews, MD, Duke University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 20, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): February 20, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 13, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 22, 2016
• First Posted (Estimated): June 27, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): July 1, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 26, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Chronic Disease; Disease Attributes; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases; Lung Diseases, Obstructive; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; Lung Diseases, Interstitial; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Neurotransmitter Agents; Membrane Transport Modulators; Psychotropic Drugs; Neurotransmitter Uptake Inhibitors; Antidepressive Agents; Serotonin Agents; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; Sertraline
• Other Study ID Numbers: Pro00071349