ClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT03487991Updated Apr 4, 2018

Stress, Sleep and Cardiovascular Risk

An interventional study of Personalized sleep intervention in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Insomnia, sponsored by Howard University. Status unknown at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 35 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-04-04.

Sponsored by Howard University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Mar 2018), so the status shown — last known as Recruiting — may be out of date.

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 5 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Oct 2017, registered Mar 2018).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
168
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 35 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

We are evaluating a model where trauma exposure and threatening environments elicit nocturnal vigilance and sleep-related fears that compromise the healthy reduction of autonomic arousal during sleep which in turn stimulates secretion of atherogenic humoral factors, arterial stiffening, and cardiovascular disease risk. We will examine the roles of pre-sleep cognition using a questionnaire and real time assessment, and modifiable strategies for coping with sleep disruptive cognitions. We will then evaluate the impact of providing personalized feedback and recommendations based on study observations on how participants cope with potentially sleep disruptive cognitions and sleep efficiency in a randomized trial.

Read the detailed description

The study has 3 specific aims.

Aim 1. To confirm the effects of neighborhood and posttraumatic stress, and nocturnal vigilance on nocturnal autonomic balance determined by complementary biomarkers.

Hypothesis 1a - Neighborhood disorder and posttraumatic stress symptom severity will be inversely correlated with indicators of autonomic balance derived from analyses of heart rate variability and cardiac impedence, and nocturnal/evening urinary noradrenergic excretion ratios.

Hypothesis 1b - These relationships will be partially or fully accounted for by nocturnal vigilance and the frequency and intensity of pre-sleep disruptive cognitions assessed in real time, and strategies for coping with sleep disruptive thoughts.

Aim 2. To determine relationships of nocturnal autonomic activity to biomarkers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction.

Hypothesis 2 - Indicators of nocturnal autonomic balance will correlate with morning levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules; and pulse wave velocity.

Aim 3. To determine if sleep is improved 6 months after receiving personalized recommendations for adaptively modifying sleep-related behaviors, and if improved sleep and reduced pre-sleep cognitive arousal are associated with more favorable nocturnal autonomic balance and endothelial function.

Hypothesis 3a - Reduced frequency and intensity of sleep disruptive cognitions and improved sleep efficiency will be more likely in the group that received personalized feedback and recommendations for sleep.

Hypothesis 3b - Reduction of disruptive pre-sleep cognitions, and increased sleep efficiency will be associated with improved autonomic status at night and a more favorable profile of cardiovascular risk biomarkers.

02

Conditions studied

  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
  • Insomnia

Keywords

  • autonomic balance
  • sleep
  • endothelial function
  • behavior
  • stress
03

In context

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

2,682 studies on the registry are indexed under Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; 601 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 168 is above the median of 69 across 2,196 interventional studies indexed under Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic.

Browse Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic studies →

Lead sponsor

Howard University is the lead sponsor of 16 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 35 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:1. Healthy adults age 18 - 35, self-identified as Black or African American, born in the United States.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • current medical or psychiatric condition that affects sleep or requires daily - use of medication other than PTSD, phobic disorders, or past history of major depression
  • severe alcohol or drug use disorders
  • overnight shift worker or an extreme chronotype
  • sleep disorder other than insomnia or nightmares
  • morbid obesity ( > 40)
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
168 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    personalized behavioral recommendations

    Will receive recommendations for altering sleep related behavior based on data from in-home monitoring.

    Behavioral: Personalized sleep intervention

  • No intervention
    educational control

    Will receive the data without recommendations. Will receive personalized recommendations after the follow up assessment.

Interventions

  • BehavioralPersonalized sleep intervention

    Personalized feedback and recommendations based on study observations of sleep behavior and how participants cope with potentially sleep disruptive cognitions on their frequency and impact and on sleep efficiency. A written report is provided to participants and their initial modifications are monitored.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. sleep efficiency

    percent of time in bed spent asleep

    Time frame: 6 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. normalized high frequency ratio of heart rate variability while in bed

    an index of parasympathetic nervous system activity

    Time frame: 6 months

  2. pulse wave velocity

    a measure of arterial elasticity

    Time frame: 6 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Clinical Research Unit; Howard University Hospital
    Washington, District of Columbia 20060, United States
    Recruiting
    • Alice Ukaegbu, DMP MSN · Contactaukaegbu@howard.edu · 202-865-7276
    • Obisesan Yejide, BA · Contactyejide.obisesan@howard.edu · 202-806-7818
    • Thomas A Mellman, M.D. · Principal investigator
    • Ihori Kobayashi, Ph.D. · Sub investigator
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 4, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03487991
Lead sponsor
Howard University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 4, 2018
Start date
Oct 1, 2017
Primary completion
Oct 31, 2021 (estimated)
Completion
Oct 31, 2021 (estimated)
Last update
Apr 4, 2018

Study contacts

Travan Hurst, BA
Contact
TLHurst@Howard.edu
202-865-7267
Obisesan Yejide, BA
Contact
Yejide.Obisesan@Howard.edu
202-806-7818

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is status unknown, as verified in Mar 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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