Mood and Excess Weight Gain in Adolescent Pregnancy

50-70% of adolescents gain too much weight during pregnancy, and this excess gain significantly increases their risk of high postpartum weight retention and long-term obesity. In this randomized controlled pilot study, the investigators are evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of a relatively brief interpersonal psychotherapy program for reducing excess gestational weight gain during adolescent pregnancy. Compared to treatment-as-usual prenatal care delivered in an adolescent maternity clinic, the investigators will estimate the added benefit of an interpersonal psychotherapy program's effectiveness for reducing excess gestational weight gain, improving maternal postpartum insulin sensitivity, and decreasing maternal and infant adiposity.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Obesity; Stress; Pregnancy Related; Insulin Sensitivity; Adolescent Development; Interpersonal Relations
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Treatment-as-usual; Behavioral: Interpersonal Psychotherapy

Detailed Description

Obesity and its negative health consequences such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease are major public health concerns. Pregnancy is an ideal opportunity to intervene with young women both to reduce their own likelihood of long-term obesity and to potentially lessen their offspring's obesity risk. Interventions to reduce excessive weight gain during adolescent pregnancy may be particularly important. 50-70% of adolescents gain too much weight during pregnancy, and this excess gain significantly increases their risk of high postpartum weight retention and long-term obesity. Depression and stress-which are common in adolescent pregnancy-also may play a role. Pregnant adolescent females, as well as non-pregnant females, who have more frequent feelings of depression or stress are more likely to gain weight too rapidly or to gain too much weight as they grow. In the current project, the investigators seek to develop a program to prevent excess weight gain that will be feasible to administer in the Colorado Adolescent Maternity Program (CAMP) at Children's Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, and, that will be acceptable to pregnant teens at-risk for gaining too much weight. After a screening assessment, adolescent females (13-19y) will be randomly assigned to participate in either a 6-session interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) program + usual care or to CAMP usual care only. The IPT program will involve 6 1-hour meetings with a trained facilitator and focus on improving relationships, mood, stress, and eating in response to negative feelings. The investigators will assess participants midway through the program, immediately after the program, and again at a 3-month postpartum follow-up. The investigators will evaluate to what extent adolescent females attend the program, complete at-home practice assignments, and show changes in mood, stress, relationships, eating, and mindfulness before and after IPT participation compared to usual care only. The investigators also will estimate how program participation relates to weight gain during pregnancy and 3-month postpartum maternal weight retention, adiposity, and insulin sensitivity. The investigators also will study the adiposity of adolescents' 3-month-old infants.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 37
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Colorado
    • Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80045
      • Children's Hospital Colorado

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 3 months to 19 years (ADULT, CHILD)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 13-19 years of age and the 3-6 month old infants of these adolescent mothers
• Female
• Pregnant, 12-18 weeks gestation
• Patient in the Colorado Adolescent Maternity Program (CAMP) clinic

Exclusion Criteria:

• Full-syndrome Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 psychiatric disorder that, in the opinion of the investigators, would impede study compliance and necessitate more intensive treatment (e.g., conduct disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder with active suicidal ideation)
• Major renal, hepatic, endocrinologic (hyperthyroidism or Cushing syndrome), or pulmonary (other than mild asthma) disorder
• Medication affecting mood or body weight
• Major high-risk pregnancy complication (preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, hypertension, multiple gestation, placenta previa, membrane rupture, incompetent cervix)
• Pre-pregnancy BMI <5th percentile for age and sex

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: SINGLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Treatment-as-usual; Treatment-as-usual alone provided in the context of a multi-disciplinary teen pregnancy clinic providing wrap-around medical, nutrition, and social work care.	Behavioral: Treatment-as-usual; Routine prenatal care as part of multidisciplinary adolescent pregnancy clinic, including medical (ob/gyn), nutrition, and social work
EXPERIMENTAL: Interpersonal Psychotherapy; Treatment-as-usual plus a six-session interpersonal psychotherapy program delivered as individual sessions by a trained facilitator every 2-3 weeks throughout pregnancy.	Behavioral: Treatment-as-usual; Routine prenatal care as part of multidisciplinary adolescent pregnancy clinic, including medical (ob/gyn), nutrition, and social work; Behavioral: Interpersonal Psychotherapy; Six individual 1-hour sessions delivered over the course of pregnancy to address interpersonal problems areas that may lead to emotional eating, physical inactivity, and increased stress during pregnancy, which are drivers of excess weight gain in pregnancy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility of recruitment	Rate of recruitment	5-year period
Acceptability	Program session attendance measured as percentage of total sessions (6) attended	6-9 months
Acceptability of program	Program acceptability ratings	6-9 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Depressive symptoms	Depressive symptoms measured on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale	12 months (9 months of pregnancy plus 3 months postpartum)
Perceived stress	Perceived stress measured on the Perceived Stress Scale	12 months (9 months of pregnancy plus 3 months postpartum)
Excess gestational weight gain	Weight gained from first-trimester screening to post-intervention assessment, just prior to delivery	9 months
Maternal postpartum insulin sensitivity	Maternal postpartum insulin sensitivity	12 months (9 months of pregnancy plus 3 months postpartum)
Maternal postpartum adiposity	Maternal postpartum body fat percentage	12 months (9 months of pregnancy plus 3 months postpartum)
Infant adiposity	Infant body fat percentage	Infants: 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Colorado State University
• Collaborators: University of Colorado, Denver; Children's Hospital Colorado

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Shomaker LB, Gulley LD, Clark ELM, Hilkin AM, Pivarunas B, Tanofsky-Kraff M, Nadeau KJ, Barbour LA, Scott SM, Sheeder JL. Protocol for a pilot randomized controlled feasibility study of brief interpersonal psychotherapy for addressing social-emotional needs and preventing excess gestational weight gain in adolescents. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2020 Mar 20;6:39. doi: 10.1186/s40814-020-00578-1. eCollection 2020.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): November 23, 2015
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): January 17, 2020
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): January 17, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 9, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 15, 2017
• First Posted (ACTUAL): March 22, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): February 4, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 3, 2021
• Last Verified: February 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Glucose Metabolism Disorders; Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Hyperinsulinism; Body Weight Changes; Insulin Resistance; Weight Gain
• Other Study ID Numbers: 14-1505

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