Bright Light Therapy for Post-COVID-19 Fatigue

This is a randomized placebo-controlled trial to examine the efficacy of two-week bright light therapy for patients with post-COVID-19 fatigue.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Post COVID-19 Condition
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Bright light therapy; Device: Dim red light therapy

Detailed Description

This randomized placebo-controlled trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of BLT in reducing fatigue symptoms after COVID-19 infection. The second aim of the study is to explore the effects of BLT on insomnia, depression and anxiety symptoms.

Method: Each eligible participant will be randomized to either i) bright light therapy (BLT) or ii) dim red light (placebo) treatment for 30-minutes daily at their habitual wake time for a total of two weeks. Participants will be evaluated at baseline, 2nd (end of treatment), and 4th week (post-treatment 2-week) for fatigue and other symptoms.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 12
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18 or above
• Capable to give informed consent
• COVID-19 infection confirmed by PCR test or a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) with onset of at least three months
• Reports new onset or exacerbation of fatigue after onset of COVID-19 and lasted for over two months
• Scoring 7 or above for the item "worst level of fatigue during the last 24 hours" in the Brief Fatigue Inventory

Exclusion Criteria:

• A current or past history of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, neurodevelopmental disorder, organic mental disorder; intellectual disabilities or substance use disorder.
• Presence of contraindications to bright light therapy: for example, history of light induced migraine/ epilepsy; current use of photosensitizing medications; presence of eye disease: e.g. retinal blindness, severe cataract, glaucoma.
• Significant medical condition/ hearing impairment/ speech deficit leading to incapability of completing clinical interview.
• Regular shift-workers
• Trans-meridian flight in the past 3 months and during the study
• Currently receiving any structured psychotherapy
• Self-reported untreated sleep disorders (e.g. severe insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome), psychiatric illness (e.g. depression), or medical conditions associated with fatigue (e.g. anemia, heart failure, autoimmune disorders)
• Enrolment in another clinical trial of an investigational medicinal product or device.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Bright light therapy; 10,000lux bright light	Device: Bright light therapy; Exposure to bright light therapy for 30mins a day for two weeks
Experimental: Placebo group; 50 lux dim red light	Device: Dim red light therapy; Exposure to 50lux dim red light therapy for 30mins a day for two weeks

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change of fatigue symptoms	Change in the score of the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI). BFI ranges from 0 to 90, higher scales indicates more severe fatigue	at 2 weeks (at the end of treatment)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change of insomnia symptoms	The change in the score of Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), which ranges from 0-28, higher score indicates higher severity of insomnia	at 2 weeks (at the end of treatment)
Change of depressive symptoms	The change in the score of Patient Health Questionnaire -9 item (PHQ-9), which ranges from 0-27, with higher score indicates greater severity of depressive symptoms	at 2 weeks (at the end of treatment)
Change of anxiety symptoms	The change in the score of Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), which ranges from 0-21, with higher score indicates greater severity of anxiety symptoms	at 2 weeks (at the end of treatment)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 15, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 28, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): April 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 6, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 9, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): January 10, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 20, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 19, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Fatigue; COVID-19; Long COVID
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Post-Infectious Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Chronic Disease; Disease Attributes; Respiratory Tract Infections; Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; COVID-19; Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome; Fatigue; Therapeutics; Phototherapy; Ultraviolet Therapy
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2022.359

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