Feasibility and Efficacy of Bright Light Therapy in Depressed Adolescent Inpatients

Jul 18, 2018Zeitschrift fur Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie

Using Bright Light Therapy for Depression in Hospitalized Teenagers: How Practical and Effective It May Be

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Abstract

39 adolescents aged 12-18 years participated in 4 weeks of bright light therapy (BLT) using light glasses.

Significant improvements were observed in depressive symptoms, sleep problems, and global clinical impression after the BLT.
The circadian phase did not show any changes during the treatment period.
Light glasses produced effects on sleep and depressive symptoms comparable to those of traditional light therapy boxes.
Extending the duration of BLT to 4 weeks did not result in greater improvements than the previously studied 2-week duration.
The use of light glasses for treatment appeared feasible and well-accepted among participants.

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OBJECTIVE: Bright light therapy (BLT) has recently come into increasing focus in the treatment of adolescent depression, whereby light glasses today appear to be more feasible than light therapy boxes. This study investigated the feasibility and efficacy of 4 weeks of BLT with light glasses. It also analyzed whether a treatment duration of 4 weeks of BLT yields larger effects than the 2 weeks of BLT investigated in previous studies.

METHODS: This first open-label, single-arm, prospective clinical trial pursued a naturalistic approach: 39 inpatients aged 12-18 years with moderate or severe depression received 4 weeks of morning BLT with light glasses in addition to usual treatment. Depressive symptoms, sleep problems, circadian phase, and the clinical global impression were assessed at several timepoints. In a second analysis, the data of the present study were compared to those from a previous pilot trial.

RESULTS: Depressive symptoms, sleep problems, and the global clinical impression improved significantly after BLT with light glasses, whereas the circadian phase did not change over time. Light glasses showed similarly positive effects on sleep parameters and depressive symptoms as light boxes. Contrary to expectation, prolonging BLT to 4 weeks did not yield larger effects on depressive symptoms and sleep complaints compared to 2 weeks of intervention.

CONCLUSIONS: Light glasses seem to be a feasible and highly acceptable method for the treatment of adolescent depression. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to obtain sufficient evidence regarding the efficacy of BLT as an add-on intervention to psychological and pharmacological approaches for adolescent depression.

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Feasibility and Efficacy of Bright Light Therapy in Depressed Adolescent Inpatients

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